


Ashes to Ashes

by AwatereJones, meretrixvilis



Series: Fire Verse [1]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Action, Alien Species, Alt Verse, Crumble cake, Dragon!Ianto, Drama, Drugs, Gen, M/M, Old World Creatures, Smut, Suspense, Two worlds in one, heat - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-05 04:21:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 22,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11570226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwatereJones/pseuds/AwatereJones, https://archiveofourown.org/users/meretrixvilis/pseuds/meretrixvilis
Summary: A new drug on the streets, Blue Chrystal is killing brain cells and making life dificult for Torchwood since it is the bloody Blowfish involved. Despite a treaty between the many lifeforms of this Verse things are tense as the hidden world below heaves with unrest. This is a world of ashes, left from a great war that raged above. Meretrixvilis and I hope you like it. ALT VERSE  Don't like don't read





	1. Chapter 1

_Step, step, breathe, breathe, step, step, breathe, breathe_. My shoes kept a steady rhythm with my burning lungs. I veered off my regular path, opting to hear the crunch of the leaves beneath my feet. The image of my sister's disapproving face was ignored as I leapt across a gurgling brook.

 _Breathe, breathe, crunch, crunch._ If I wasn't mountain climbing, I was running. I craved speed and freedom. I had to escape the oppressive perfection of living in my suit and tied life.

Thinking of my older sister, a star mother and so sure of herself, my legs lunged, lengthening their stride. Not good at team sports and terrified by cameras, I knew my family felt my height was wasted on me. If only they knew what I really did. If only I could tell them.

A stitch pinched my side. _Breathe, breathe._ I knew I was going too fast, not pacing myself right. Something was urging me on, pushing me to scale the hill before me, and plunge deeper into the woods. I refocused on my rhythm, my inhales and exhales, and my body realigned itself, goose bumps shooting across my arms.

_There it is._

I'd hit my second wind and I surged on, not caring where my feet led _._

_It's freedom! Complete and..._

There was a rush of air, a whistling in my ear, and a sting to the back of my arm. Instantly, I tumbled to the ground, sliding into the damp morning dew. Cold dirt filled my nostrils as blackness enveloped me.

I heard my own laboured breathing long before I realized I was somewhere in between awake and asleep.

Forcing my eyes open, I gasped. My senses took everything in at once...the smell of wood shavings, the scratchy ropes on my wrists and ankles, and the pressure of the mattress beneath my body. I screamed, but the empty room with grated floors and metal sheets for walls was empty. No one burst through the door in the corner.

Realizing it was useless and only making my throat raw, I fell silent. Panic flooded me. How did I get here? I pressed my thoughts to retrace my steps, but my mind felt sluggish. My last memory was running in the woods just before sunrise. I could still feel the burn from the autumn air hitting my lungs. Now the solitary window painted a yellow rectangle on the floor. The room felt stuffy.

_It's probably late afternoon. But is it the same day?_

The minutes rolled slowly into hours, the silence suffocating. What had my handler said to do when I was scared?

_Breathe deeply and don't panic._

It was too late for that; all the years of therapy after my childhood accident were rendered useless.

 _I'm burning all over again_.

Only this time, it wasn't smoke filling my lungs but pure fear and terror pressing down on my chest. I gulped in dry air, my eyes burning with tears.

 _No one's coming to save me_.

A sob escaped me as the real horror of the situation washed over me. _I'm tied up_. _Someone knows I'm here._ What would happen when they came back? As the last rays of light were snuffed out by the shadows of the night, that someone came through the metal door.

"Just tell me...what do you want?" I asked, knowing it was pointless. In the three weeks...or had it been longer?...of my imprisonment, I had yet to get an answer.

She never spoke.

I blinked, trying to clear the blurry blob that occasionally floated across my right eye. Never having glasses before, I was annoyed by my hazy vision. I blinked again, my eyes refocusing on the figure pacing the room. What had started as a dull headache was now a hammer drumming at the back of my eye sockets.

_I need water._

My stomach grumbled with nauseating hunger.

There was no escaping the noxious, pinstriped mattress that seemed to mock the pinstripe suits I usually wore, except for the periodic bathroom breaks, which weren't frequent enough.

My jaw quivered, and I clamped my mouth shut.

 _Don't start chattering now,_ I commanded myself, knowing it usually ended with my whole body convulsing. October was merciless on my bare skin; my arms and legs were permanently smattered with goose bumps.

 _Stupid running shorts_. I wished for the thousandth time I'd listened to my sister and worn a _sensible_ sweat suit that day. The swish-swish of her warm jacket and pants seemed to mock me, as she continued her route of six steps forward and then six steps back again.

Too late, I realized it was quiet, the rhythmic swish-swish gone. In one impossible leap, she was next to me.

I squeaked out in surprise. This wasn't the first time she'd come close, but usually she ambled over, producing a long needle from her pocket.

Silently, she pressed her face against mine, the short black hair tickling my forehead and nose as she checked the monitoring leads on my chest.

I shied away, terrified by both her touch and the change in her behaviour.

My bindings made my attempt to move useless, so I squeezed my eyes shut. My chest heaved up and down as my heart galloped against my rib cage.

 _It's ok. She's got a needle. The pinch's coming still. It'll be over soon,_ I consoled myself.

I tried to steady my pulse, inhaling slowly. Not daring to open my eyes, I waited, but there was still no pinch. The stillness stretched on, with only her heavy breathing letting me know she was near. Never talking, the mechanical sounds she produced reminded me of Darth Vader. I long since decided that she was actually a human and the protruding square under her surgical mask was just a voice modulator.

_Sh_ _e's still a monster._

Her breathing sounds sent chills through me.

_Maybe she has food._

I cracked my eyelids, peeking through feathered lashes. Her body leaned over mine, elevated by knuckles planted in the mattress. Terror rippled through me.

_Why isn't she drugging me? Why isn't she drugging me?_

I welcomed my arm being stuck with a needle. It was my only escape from this nightmare.


	2. waking

The bed lowered as she sat down next to me, her weight pulling my body toward her. The bedsores on my backside smarted at the slight shift. Even with her face covered, I could feel her ogling me. One hand reached out, stroking my matted hair down, brushing errant strands from my face. I gritted my teeth, resisting the urge to bite her glove. She hadn't actually hit me before, but I didn't want to take my chances.

_Maybe I should bite her. Maybe it'll end this misery. Or would they just replace her with someone stronger?_

She chuckled, the sound like a horror movie. "Are you watching me? You see, I can feel you're eyes on me Mr Jones, or should I call you Ianto?"

 _She knows my name?_ Dark spots popped in my vision, and my body felt like it was floating several feet above my head. _Crap, I'm going to pass out!_

She touched my arm with her gloved hand.

"Don't!" I hissed, and she instantly recoiled.

Dumbstruck, I stared at the dark skinned woman who told me once or twice her name was Ms Hallet. Not that I would ever refer to her by name. I would not give her that power.

 _Is she really listening to me?_ I didn't want to faint or be drugged. Not if this was my one chance to talk to her. Pulse pounding in my ears, the adrenaline cleared my mind, giving me courage. "Please, I need water."

She cocked her head to the side, as if considering, and then produced a small water bottle from her pant pocket. A gloved hand tugged my hairs out as she elevated my head, but this time, she didn't shove the bottle against my lips. I drained it within seconds, not satiated, and wanting more.

I asked again, "What do you want? Why am I here?"

"I already told you. I want you to tell me where the base is." She replied gently, "We know who you are, we know you found it. The device. We want it. Come on Mister Jones, Torchwood can help you."

"Then let me go! Untie me," I begged as something wet tickled my lips. I licked the salty tear away.

She didn't say anything, just sat next to me breathing.

"Who are you? What is Torchwood?" I persisted. Again, silence. "How long are you going to keep me here?"

"That depends on how long it takes."

"For what?"

"For," She paused, "you to tell me the truth about that night."

I resisted the hysterical laughter bubbling within me _._

"How can I," I hesitated, "I don't remember anything about that night. Why am I here? Please. Please I can't tell you what I don't know Ms Hallet."

Damn. I used the name, her look of triumph telling me I had given her power now as she stood and glanced at the door. Relieved she was further away, I decided to push her.

_This might be my only chance._

"Can I know your first name at least?"

"No."

"Ok, well, how do you know me then?"

"I've known you a long time."

I shuddered. "Do I know you _personally_?"

"Yes." The voice modifier made it sound like a growl.

My body began shaking.

"What do you want?" I whispered.

"Why do you keep asking the same question over and over? You're smarter than this. That's why you're so unique, Ianto. You're not only beautiful, you're brilliant."

 _Okay, maybe she doesn't know me that well. I'm anything but brilliant. Stay calm. Keep her talking._ "Why are you drugging me? Why can't we just talk then?"

Her sigh sounded more like a roar. "You ask too many questions, Ianto. Answered none of mine. You need to sleep now."

"No!" But she grabbed my arm with one hand, while the other produced the all-too-familiar needle.

"No," I begged. "I can sleep without it! I don't need it!"

"Yes, you do. I know what's best for you. Trust me; this is for your own good. And this one is a special blend; I made it myself. You'll sleep wonderful tonight."

I thrashed against the restraints, but it was no use. The tip of the needle burned my skin.

She paused and then glanced down at me, her ski mask moving with her mouth. "Wait, I want to tell you something first."

I could no longer feel the point of the needle against my skin. "You _are_ going to tell me _Ianto_. It's only a matter of time. You'll be mine one day. One day you'll lie in my arms and be my little pet, once she is done with you."

Her gloved finger traced my lips.

I turned away and spat, "Never! I'll never love you!"

"That's where you're wrong. We're meant for each other, and no one can ever love you like I do. You were always _my special dragon_."

My head snapped back to glare at her. _Special dragon?_

The needle inserted, but I no longer cared about the pinch and the burn it caused. All I knew was the scrambled voice that said, "I guess you'll never know now, will you?"

I struggled to respond but the drug worked fast, seeping through my veins like ice-cold water hitting an empty stomach. My body welcomed it, drifting off into the black void it created.

.

.

.

I bolted upright screaming. _Wait. I'm sitting up?_

Still in my one-bedroom prison with light coming through the hatch above, I stared at my rope-free arms and legs. Instinctively, I hugged my knees, wincing when my wrists bumped into each other. The ropes had left raw sores behind, I was sure of it yet they were uninjured. Pristine.

_Got to move._

I shoved my legs over the side of the bed, but discovered even touching my feet against the ground sent waves of nausea through me. Teeth gritted, I forced myself to stand. _I need to get out of here._ I staggered across the floor, terrified by how weak I was.

Was it just not eating or all the drugs? Thinking of those needles, I grabbed the ladder rungs, praying the masked woman wasn't up there waiting. I exhaled in relief, seeing only the hub.

 _So, it was a dream_.

Goddamn it, I was screaming about Torchwood One again, after all this time. After almost two years I still woke back in the fucking cell every time.

"Ianto?"

Jack was looking up at me as I hung to the banister and I forced a weak smile as I nodded that I was OK. Owen swung in his chair to look at me, then away as Jack started up the stairs, sensing my dismay.

Our bond so strong, he had been standing there feeling my panic and unsure what it was.

It was still something we were working on.

Our bond.

My mate embraced me, his strength and power renewing as my flames were fanned and flared.

I stood, straightening my back as I nodded that I was OK. For real this time. I left the dream to the ash and ruin of that place he had found me in, saved me from. It was another time. Another life. This is my life now. I never look back. Only the future matters.

I looked forward, to the day's work.

Torchwood 3 was waking up, Tosh calling out that there was a Rift Alert that had me and my mate running eagerly for the doors.

Time to go topside.


	3. watching you watching me

As Ianto blocked out the din of the crowd, and completely ignored the political party members lounging around the table beside him, his heated gaze panned the potential hazards in the room a second time.

His investigative eyes zeroed in on one very sexy, very "well equipped" Jack Harkness as he turned in his direction. The man had been warming his blood and getting under his skin whilst weaselling his way into Ianto's heart. And soul. And bond.

As Ianto devoured his broad shoulders, his firm stomach, and his even firmer thighs, a slow heat gravitated south and burned his body from the inside out. Ianto licked his suddenly parched lips, his mind wandering, conjuring up all the wicked ways Jack, with his lethally honed physique and panty-soaking smile, could help extinguish those slow burning embers.

Ianto's gaze brushed over him again, taking pleasure in his square jaw, perfect white teeth, long athletic body, and bad-boy attitude. Sexual awareness prowled through him, warming his blood. His glance travelled onward and upward until he met with a set of bedroom blues that shimmered with dark desire when they locked on Ianto's. Jack shot him a look that held all kinds of suggestions, all kinds of wicked possibilities.

Ianto drew a sharp breath, his pulse pounding in his throat. He wiped his hands on his snug suit trousers, letting the material drink in his moisture.

As Jack watched Ianto watching him, his nostrils flared and his body tensed, tension lines bracketing his sensuous mouth. In that brief moment when their gazes collided, they shared a heated exchange, one that could undoubtedly set the crowded establishment ablaze.

Suddenly Ianto's entire body went on high alert. He knew someone was standing behind him, felt him long before he saw him. A throat was cleared as Jack calmly stepped between Ianto and the interloper who seemed surprised to be cut off, his mouth open about to speak.

"Fuck off" Jack said softly, "This is our spot."

The Unit soldier blinked as Jack sneered and Ianto turned to place his hand on his side arm, his eyebrow rising in question.

Jack's heat reached out to him, his scent closing around him like warm blanket.

Ianto inhaled, pulling his spicy aroma into his lungs, noting the way his body stirred to life whenever he was near. Lust burned through him, and his mind sifted through all the ways Jack could help stoke that fire.

Jack leaned over his shoulder and grabbed a handful of nuts. Ianto drew a shaky breath, heat pooling in his gut. Ianto closed his hand over Jack's hip, and angled his body to face him. The sight of him up close and personal had Ianto's libido reacting with urgent demands, clamouring for his undivided attention. His bad-boy smile did delicious things to Ianto's insides. His body flushed, immediately. The man made him feel so edgy, so out of control, so fucking hot.

In a hushed tone, he spoke to Ianto, and Ianto alone.

"I have to take off. I'll be at the back doors before HRH moves out. Stop smouldering at me or I might cream my pants you naughty boy." His voice was low, deeply intimate. His sexy tenor curled around Ianto, his nipples tightening in response. As sexual tension whipped between them, basic elemental need took hold.

Ianto's mouth salivated, and his arse ached to slide down his pole and ride him with wild abandonment.

A round of "Goodnights" followed a path around the table as they all prepared to leave. Before Jack stepped away, he cast Ianto a suggestive look and touched Ianto's shoulder, his knuckles brushing his cheek in a gentle caress that stimulated all his nerve endings. Something compelled him to touch him in return. When his fingers closed over his, it brought passion to his blue eyes. His dark, seductive gaze told Ianto that not only would he fuck him, and fuck him good, but he could also make all his fantasies come true.

He paused for a moment, as though weighing his words carefully. Then, with his expression tender and hot, he whispered to Ianto in the deepest, sexiest tone, "L _ater._ "

Ianto snorted as Jack's images flooded the bond like a firestorm, hotter than Ianto's had been and Ianto knew he had been projecting again, Jack leering as he winked and disappeared into the crowd.

Holy. Shit.

That one word, combined with everything in his voice and everything in his manner, spoke volumes and had Ianto aching to rediscover the heat behind the Captain's bluster.

His mate.

Ianto swallowed. Hard.

His mind raced, the fire in him perking up.

"Oi, stop flirting and watch the bloody Big Bird" Owen growled and Ianto looked up in time to see Jack slip out the door. The scrumptious sight of his tight backside made him shiver with longing.

Ianto drew a centring breath, and worked to push back the rising lust.

Time slipped by much too slowly for Ianto's liking as he paced restlessly. He'd practically worn a hole in the carpet by the time the double ping in the coms told him the Royal Limo was away and the Queen was heading back to London.

Torchwood's night of HRH watching was done.


	4. Sorry ...not

"I swear to the gods, you two are gonna lose your minds one day and fuck right there in the middle of a bloody job" Owen was scolding them like a mother looking at two naughty children and Ianto was trying to look chagrined but the images Jack were sending through the bond were so naughty that a snort of amusement escaped.

"You think this is funny?" Owen swung to him and Jack burst out laughing as Ianto sent an image of Owen with a big switch to beat them with.

"Owen, you know Ianto is a tease" Jack giggled, "He was egging me on all evening and her Majesty was done. We only flirted a little."

"And when Unit decide he is leverage and swipe him for..."

"No one will ever take me again" Ianto snarled, bristling as a heat flared in his gut, the thought of being trapped again unacceptable. Jack turned and seized his wrist, squeezing gently to calm him least he set Owen on fire.

"Owen, Ianto is fully aware of things, as am I" Jack said calmly, "Ianto has a tracker on him, he is fully trained in escapism. Please stop treating him like a child. Ianto and I are a mated pair. We are more than capable of doing our jobs and playing. After all, do I scold you and Tosh when you start your little mating dance?"

Owen stared at Jack, opening and closing his mouth like a fish as he tried to think of a comeback.

"Stop it" Ianto sighed, "Owen and Tosh are still new to the mating game and it is not a mating dance. He is merely showing an interest with the flowers and such. His kind don't flash their arse and leer."

"Is that a dig?" Jack asked with fake severity, "I thought you liked my arse."

"Cariad, it's a very nice arse, I chose to accept it in my bed did I not?" Ianto blinked.

"You know what?" Owen said slowly, "You are both bastards!"

He stormed off and Ianto snorted again, "Poor wee thing. Like a wee Chihuahua isn't he, thinking he's a Doberman."

"Are you OK?" Jack asked and Ianto nodded, pointing as Gwen flew across the Hub after Owen.

"She still trying to get him?" Ianto canted his head, "I had hoped once he declared interest in Tosh she would calm the fuck down."

"She stinks of Rhys" Jack agreed, "I hope she snaps out of it soon or I might have to have words with her about proper workplace etiquette."

Ianto roared with laughter, his head falling back as his laughter bounced off the rafters and Myfanwy squawked in reply.

"Cariad" he giggled, "I don't think a sexual harassment speech from you would go down that well!"

"Cheeky" Jack pouted, "Tell you what, come warm my bed tonight and I will show you how cheeky my arse flashing can get."

Ianto's laugher barked again as he moved off, his lithe fighter's body moving liquidly in his tight suit and Jack's mouth watered as he watched him go.

Gods he was sexy.

Jack considered things, knowing it was not usual for him to choose an Alpha as a mate but Ianto was so different to any other mate he had bonded to in the past. After all, the fire in his belly whenever he was near was enough to tell him Ianto was a good match, even without the mind blowing sex which was not just a bonus but a freaking amazeballs experience.

Tosh was looking at the files from the meeting and she tapped her screen, "This?"

"Yeah" Ianto nodded, "Apparently Unit have a section but are seeking the rest of it. It broke apart on entry."

"Who would have thought" she snorted, "Al this time chasing Rift Junk and a piece of Space Junk is suddenly the more frightening thing?"

"Ah, but that's the rub" Ianto whispered softly, "If came from space, but is it domestic? I wonder if it is just from a satellite at all or are they blowing smoke up our collective arse? I wonder."

"You're right" Jack called out, "I think this either broke away from a spaceship in orbit or the Rift spat it out at high altitude. It was giving off all kinds of readings my VM was excited about."

"Then we have a hunt on our hands" Ianto agreed.

"Great" Owen muttered behind them as he listened, "What do we call this piece of space junk?"

"Anything you like" Jack straightened as he glanced at his mate, "As long at it's not snipe."

"No" Ianto agreed softly, "Definitely not that kind of hunt."

"So...Unit might still be creating a smoke screen?" Tosh was interested, looking from one man to the other, her glasses perched on the tip of her nose.

"This is Unit" Ianto said with his arms folded across his chest, "I don't trust them as far as I can spit and you know how I value my waters."

"Yep" Owen quipped, "definitely not a spitter you."

"Nope" Jack said as he brushed past Owen and leaned in close to whisper, "Swallows every time."

Owen shuddered as he made a noise of disgust.

Bastards.


	5. flying

Ianto jerked awake, a lingering chill running down his spine. He hated the cold, always seems to find it in the void when he slept.

His hands instinctively grasped at the leather seat of the SUV, and slowly he came to remember he was safe on a relatively harmless recon in the bloody countryside, the snooze as he waited for Jack had caught him unawares.

He slid from the SUV and stretched as he wondered how far Jack had wandered.

The sunlight streamed through the lush green woods and cascaded over the mossy ground. Nearby, a rushing stream gurgled, and an obnoxious beeping sound was coming from the metal sensor that was testing the water for any known toxins and overall drinkability.

Ianto rubbed his face sleepily. He couldn't remember what he'd been dreaming about now only that he had a sleepy, lethargic feeling in the back of his throat that said he'd slept too long.

Damn, snoring again.

Also, there was a tingle in his back from lying awkwardly against the back of the partially reclined seat. Yawning, he reached down and unhooked a small black computer with a single touch screen from his belt.

Now, all he _really_ wanted to do was to keep sleeping, but that was inadvisable. Yawning, he absent-mindedly scrolled back and forth through the mini-computer. They'd been wandering around all day, hacking their way through dense flora, and trying to ascertain if there was any other life there except for them, a few birds, and one lizard.

Whatever had fallen, it had not fallen here.

_Grrr._

Ianto's ears jumped to attention. That could've been the wind, but he didn't think so. He'd developed a good sense for when he was being watched.

Or hunted.

After jumping to his feet, he snatched the sensor out of the water and stuffed it into the backpack, which he slung over his shoulders. Just in case, he pressed the emergency call button on his coms, "Sir? Close?"

_Grrr._

The leaves were rustling all around as a breeze blew through the trees. He scanned the tree line for any signs of...

There it was.

He didn't know what it was only that he could see two shining eyes and a couple of gleaming white teeth.

This could put a damper on the day. "Sir? I think I found it."

The giant black cat jumped out of the bushes, mouth open, teeth bared, drool dangling, just as Ianto turned and leaped toward the SUV.

The cat was fast as it moved to cut him off from the safety of the vehicle, but this wasn't the first bloodthirsty animal that had ever chased Ianto. He deftly sprinted through the undergrowth flying over roots and making sharp turns around the path that he'd walked earlier.

And then, all of a sudden, he found himself at the edge of a deep ravine. He looked behind him and saw the cat flying toward him.

Shit.

He had no choice. There was only one thing he could do.

With a small sigh and closed eyes, Ianto leapt into the crevasse.

.

.

.

.

"IANTO!" Jack yelled as he stood next the SUV and looked around, scanning the immediate area.

"Here Sir" Ianto was striding towards him, one of their hover boards from the back of the SUV humming along behind him like a pet dog following its master...well, maybe that is a bad choice of words. The cat lying in the board might not have liked its temporary bed to be referred to as a dog.

"OK, why did you bag it then?" Jack slumped, "It was my turn to catch one."

"You snooze you lose Captain" Ianto chirped as he opened the back of the SUV to slid the creature in, Owen already screaming in his ear that he wanted it in one piece.

"Now Owen, it was Jack that blew the last one up and as I recall you were the twat that gave Jack that hand grenade to play with" Ianto laughed heartily, Jack mesmerized by his neck as his head canted, "Cariad? Watching or helping?"

"Sorry love" Jack moved to help, snorting as Ianto showed he didn't really need his help, shoving the platform into the large cage waiting in the boot.

"I wanna name it!" Owen wailed down the coms like a huge child and Jack shrugged as he glanced at Ianto.

"You will have to ask Lieutenant Jones, Doctor Harper" Jack said as he walked around to the passenger side of the SUV, Ianto always driving home after retrievals.

That was the agreement.

Jack could drive there so if there was Unit already on scene he looked like he was the boss instead of one of a matched pair. On the ride home Ianto drove because he actually drove better than Jack.

Not that he would admit it.

Ianto drove like a fucking maniac.

But then...didn't all Militarians?

"Jack, belt" Ianto said calmly as Jack came out of his revere to find they were still in the park.

"Sorry love" Jack said softly as he pulled his belt on and smiled apologetically at his mate.

Ianto smiled to show he was forgiven and then slammed the gas down to the floor as he released the brake and they flew out off the parking area, catching air as the first speed bump was obliterated.

Jack whooped as he held the suicide strap.

Only way to fly.


	6. Flaming Heck

Ianto was ignoring Owen as he argued loudly with Gwen over naming rights as the creature lay prone on the hover board.

Ianto was searching the database for an alien named Burke that had been eluding them for a few days and it was now starting to grate on him that he was failing to bag him a blowfish.

"It's not fair!" Gwen wailed, "You always pull rank when you are losing a fight."

"Wahhhhhh" Owen crowed, "Poor wee Grunt! Going from an officer of the Heddlu Division to a lowly little Grunt! Wahhhh Gwnennie lost her stripes wahhhhhh"

"Captain he's doing it again" Gwen yelled and Jack could be heard cursing in his office as the two junior members of the elite Torchwood team bickered yet again.

Ianto sat back for a moment, smiling then it faded as he saw the corner of the screen blinking with the message from Toshiko, her little water dragon insignia waving. Ianto watched the blowfish slide along the alleyway outside the house they had been survailing in the CCTV footage she had sent. Burk must've created a new alias he hadn't found yet.

Before he could start a search for transactions on the house where Burke had spent the night, he angrily turned around and smacked his keypad to answer the video call that had been coming in repeatedly since he logged onto the Torchwood Main Frame.

" _For crying out loud, what?_ "

"That's not very nice, now, is it?" Smiling, Kathy Swanson leaned into the video camera eagerly.

"Go on, what do you want?" he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Just to chit-chat," she said sarcastically. "What with your charm and charisma, who wouldn't want to talk to you all day long?"

Ianto stared back at her, silent. Smouldering. Like...flame in his eyes.

"I mean, you're just a fabulous person to talk to." She blinked at him.

He blinked back.

She blinked again.

He blinked back.

"Oh come on, Ianto!" she said finally, sitting back as Ianto glanced over at Owen who was not poking tongues at Gwen as she fiddled with her uniform tunic. "What crawled up your ass today?"

He turned sharply to her. "Don't call me that."

"Fine, _Lieutenant_ , whatever," she said, rolling her eyes. "Soo..."

"Gods in the Heavens," he said, swirling around again to glare at her. "Go bother someone else!"

"I can't," she said, folding her arms over her chest. "My stupid shift's up to eleven."

"So you thought you would stoke my coals to see if I want to flame you today?" Ianto warned, his eyes now flaming orbs.

Her gaze widened, and she sat back, pursing her lips into a thin line.

"I mean, not that that's anything good or anything. Sorry Lieutenant Jones. I mean, it's...er... What's your bounty today?" Kathy squeaked, clearing realizing she'd really stepped in it. She shot him the meanest, iciest glare she could muster hoping he would accept her apology as always, you can never tell with Militarians ya know. Funny lot.

"Well, it's certainly not someone you can find for me."

"Oh, come on," Kathy said, trying to salvage the situation. "I'm sure it's not that bad..."

"A Blowfish" Ianto continued to speak, "The Kingpin of the West Towers, Burke."

"Him" her eyes widened, I thought he had slithered back under his rock."

"So did I but apparently the prick is skulking around the red light district again, you know he will be pedalling drugs to the girls" Ianto growled and Kathy groaned softly.

Then a ball of paper hit the side of his head and he blinked slowly as Kathy's face changed and she tried not to laugh. The ball of paper landed on the grating, the corners scorched and he slid his eyes downward in time to see flames start on one edge.

"Owen?"

"It wasn't me" Owen wailed as he ran over with one of the many buckets of water around the hub "Gwen threw it. I can't help it if she throws like a girl D-Boy!"

"Oi!" Gwen roared.

"First of all, stop calling me that you putrid little worm. Second, Gwen you are a girl so why take offence?" Ianto asked "Third, Gwen there is a rule of no paper around me for a reason. Last and not least, I am in a live chat with a member of another squad and you are all acting like naughty little privates still in basic."

Owen pouted at Kathy behind Ianto's back as he stomped past and she giggled again, liking their acidic little medic who was always prompt with the autopsy reports. She knew it was partly due to the young Lieutenant who had that scary hue to him that she had long since recognised as Dragon Blood.

Which is why she always started her requests with him.

No matter what she wanted.

Dragons don't like giving from their hoard.

And this one?

She felt deep down that he was ancient, maybe even old enough to transform.

If there is one thing Kathy had learnt in her time with the Underworld is was that of all the creatures that humans shared this world with, Dragons are the ones you never cross.

They are the last to declare war, the least likely to respond with violence and above all else...

They are deadly.


	7. going down

The elevator opened, and a burly man covered in purple hair seemed shocked to see him on the lift heading down to the Underworld colonies.

Ianto ignored him and leaned against the wall, scrolling through the bounty lists absent-mindedly.

Another floor, and again, another startled look.

Ianto had slipped to number twelve, he noted with a scowl. Twelve? He was more dangerous to these slithery fish that that, surely. Maybe he had to push more, Jack on the top as usual.

Ianto smiled softly at the pun his Cariad had missed there.

Jack had stayed topside as the evening shift he was currently on was a crossover into the night shift and he would not be in Ianto's bed tonight, something that seemed upsetting more that it should be.

After all, they were a bonded pair and all but not in each other's pockets right? So why was it so annoying that he would be travelling down to his Liar in the basement of the Hub alone tonight after this last meeting?

The elevator opened again and he leaned his head against the cool steel wall. Were they really stopping on every floor?

He could feel four sets of eyes on him and shifted his weight to another leg, trying to ignore it.

The door to the lift opened to a bustling military station.

Because this docking centre was so far out from the inner city, shuttles had been built to move people in and out.

Unfortunately, because they were built by Rynorgs who were notorious for undercutting the other contracts by being sub-par, the system was unreliable, rickety, and took forever.

He looked up at the broken down screen and rolled his eyes; the next train would be at least twenty minutes.

Sighing, he plopped down on a bench on the far end of the station, away from the curious glances and looks.

Then he pulled out his PDA and began looking through the latest reports form Unit, more than one alien walking a wide arc around his long legs and crossed ankles with a polite nod of respect to the ancient Dragon as he sat in his plain black militarial clothes that belied his true rank.

Ianto clicked on Abbott's profile. He was one of Burke's goons. Between him and Molloy...who was number two now that Abbott was number one...Burke had two of the five most wanted Blowfish in his inner gang?

He sighed.

If only Dragons could show themselves instead of this human form they must maintain under the Treaty, he'd knock then both out in a heartbeat.

After an eternity of waiting, the shuttle finally came.

Ianto took a spot on the end of the shuttle, and was glad there was no one else in the car. He peered out into the darkness as the shuttle sped toward downtown, lost in his own thoughts.

He caught his reflection in the window, and was suddenly reminded of that awful creature who'd cut his last potential mate in half when she had betrayed him and shown herself to be a double agent. That man exuded confidence and badassery. The man staring back at Ianto today was defeated and ready to give up...But he reminded himself that Dragon Yan wasn't weak.

Dragon Yan was strong, confident, and would've flamed that entire elevator full of lowlifes for even looking at him.

The station he got off at was dingy and dimly lit, with one slow, long escalator. The shuttle system was built far underground to protect it from the punishing sun on the surface. But that also meant that the escalators to get to the surface were extra-long, going for three stories in some cases.

Ianto climbed on and clenched his fingers around the rubber railing. He told himself _not_ to look back. But voices below drew his attention, and he glanced over his shoulder.

Immediately, a jolt of fear snaked up his spine and he gripped the escalator harder as his bastard brain started to envision him losing his grip, falling backwards, tumbling head over feet straight into a river of icy water.

Shaking his head, he stomped up the stairs with purpose, his hands shaking as he clawed the moving railing for dear life.

Whoever heard of a Dragon afraid of heights?

That feeling of freefall terrifying.

Ianto shook himself and stepped out through the large glass doors into the bustling underground called Underworld.

Ianto was going home.


	8. an entirely different world down there

The doors of the station opened into the streets of the under city. Advertisements for alcohol and boobs blinked down at him, muted by the bright Halogen lights that mimicked sunlight overhead.

Open doors to dingy bars lined the streets around him, and a hot, dry wind did nothing more than knock dirt around. Iron tables and chairs littered the outside of bars with ratty awnings overhead.

A few people sat outside, but most had retreated to the only slightly less stifling indoors.

Before leaving the station, Ianto checked his PDA history to see if it had changed.

It hadn't.

"Damn," he whispered.

He crossed the street straight into a nondescript bar.

As with everything else in this world under the human world above, a cloud of dust hung in the air, but inside it was almost pleasant. He scanned the bar, finding one lonely patron at a booth in the back.

He trotted over, a smile growing on his face.

"I thought I heard the pitter-patter of dainty feet," the man said, looking up from his tablet computer and smiling.

"Hi, Duncan," Ianto said, slipping into the booth next to him. His beard was starting to show curls of gray, but his eyes were bright as he smiled at Ianto much as a favourite uncle would, although they were actually cousins. Blood.

"What brings you out this way? Not that I don't always love it when you visit me...but I assume you don't need my services today?"

Ianto sighed. Duncan was a private informant who knew the comings and goings of all the top troublemakers down here. He wasn't affiliated with any mob, as neutrality was better for business. He was the person a bounty hunter went to when bank accounts, aliases, and the CCTV came up empty. Sometimes the amount of detailed information he knew was unnerving.

"So I heard from a little birdie that someone was hunting Burke." Duncan smiled at him.

"I'm not hunting him," Ianto said, unable to keep the grin off his face. "I was just...curious if he had a new alias."

"Uh-huh," Duncan said. "And did you find a new alias for him?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe I did."

"What is that? Three?" Duncan said, impressed.

"Four."

"He'd better hope that you never join the mob." Duncan laughed.

Ianto started to laugh, but then dropped his head on the table. "This is humiliating."

"I know, honey," Duncan said, patting him comfortingly on the hand. "What number did he give you this time?"

" _Hands up, everyone_!"

A group of UNIT officers, wearing the finest black uniforms with special patches on their breasts, came barging into the bar. None of them were older than twenty-one or twenty-two, but they looked around with an undeserved sense of entitlement.

Their leader, a fresh lieutenant with combed and short brown hair, a baby face, and wide eyes, was looking around intently. As the place was almost empty, except for a few few at the bar plus Duncan and Ianto, he and his two compatriots came marching over, looking very much as if they wanted to arrest someone.

"We are members of the UNIT Special Forces, conducting a raid on this known mob bar," the lieutenant announced, trying very hard to make his high voice sound lower than it was.

Duncan winked at Ianto, who watched them with amusement. The UNIT Special Forces were an "elite" unit of policemen dedicated to the capture and eradication of aliens.

"Mr. Duncan, you're clear," he said, nodding at Duncan.

"Thank you, Officer Miles." Duncan nodded. "Do you want a drink..."

"As for your friend," the officer said, turning to Ianto. "Give me your identification."

"Give me your identification...what?" Ianto smirked. "I know your mother taught you some manners."

"Ianto, don't be a twit," Duncan said, giving him a look. "Give him your ID."

Ianto rolled his eyes as he pulled his Torchwood card out of his pocket, making sure to give him the right one with her majesty's seal in the back. The lieutenant's gaze lingered on the two ID-cards, but took only the one he handed to him, scanning it to check his identity.

He grimaced, presumably seeing the seal as he waited on his PDA.

"You're free to go."

The other officer leaned over the lieutenant's shoulder. "Since when do they let Archivists in the Militarial Torchwood Teams?"

Ianto snatched his card back and gave him a dirty look. "Move along now, junior."

"Watch yourself," the young lieutenant said, giving Ianto one final, authoritative glance.

"Idiots." Ianto mumbled, sticking the card back in its slot.

"Oh come on, he can't help it. They are not trained to recognise your hidden form, they have no idea what you are" Duncan chuckled. "You know the Brigadier makes them do rounds around here to keep busy. I see that poor kid about once every two weeks."

"I guess he's got to let them do something, since he can't arrest us anymore."

"No" Duncan's smile faded, "Thank the Gods the days of the slayings are over."

Ianto, brought down to reality, grimaced. "Ugh, I don't want to get this blowfish."

"What number is it again?"

"Seven hundred."

Duncan smiled at him. "At least that's not the last guy on the list? Plenty more fish in the sea?"

"Close enough." Ianto sighed, sitting back. "I just want to get him off the streets, stop that bloody blue power going up noses and ending lives"

"Well my little birdies have been looking and I can't find where he is holed up sorry cousin."

"Maybe he's got an alias you don't know about!" Ianto sighed, frustrated.

"So what else is new?" Duncan asked.

Ianto shook his head sadly.

"Well, you know I love to chat with you," Duncan said gingerly. "But I see another customer hanging out at the bar...and unfortunately, he's a _paying_ customer so..."

"I get it, I get it." Ianto frowned as he stood.

"Keep your chin up, kid," Duncan said, as Ianto skulked away.

Ianto hated fish.


	9. blu ice

With nothing else to do, Ianto headed over to the casino. It had been a good long while since Burke had made a purchase, and he was sure he'd be active any minute now. He passed under the bright lights, and made his way down the line of windows then ducked into the doorway, the cool air conditioning hitting him like an icy blast.

The sound of a million slot machines filled his ears, and the cigarette smoke made him cough. The last place Burke had spent money was the bar, so that was probably a good place to start asking around.

Ianto pushed open the glass door to the bar and the jingling song of the slot machines quieted. A few sets of eyes were watching him, especially when Ianto sauntered up to the bar and sat down.

The bartender looked up from his paper, sniffed, then continued reading.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing here all alone in a place like this?"

It was only a matter of time before they started coming out of the woodwork. Ianto was holding out hope that once he actually made it as a respected Torchwood Agent, it would stop. Again he wished he could transform and simply flame the whole room, settling for ignoring the worm who was eying up what he thought was a thin, attractive man of little to no danger in his plain black clothing.

Ianto tapped his fingers on the table and waited patiently for the bartender to come, ignoring whoever was trying, pathetically, to hit on him.

"Come now, don't be like that..." A cold and sweaty hand reached around him.

With a sigh of frustration, and faster than the man could react, he shot out his elbow and connected with his chest, then whipped his hand up to hit the bridge of his nose with the back of his hand, then brought his fist down on the base of his neck to knock him out.

The other men of the bar stared at him, mouths open.

Ianto shot his cuffs to show a white shirt underneath the plain black Militarial tunic and sat back down, acting as if nothing had happened, although inwardly, he was counting the minutes until he would wake up.

Hopefully.

He had been a bit wound up there and may have been a wee tad too firm there.

Oops?

Ianto unhooked his PDA, zooming in on the picture of Burke, taken from CCTV by a diligent Tosh.

"Have you seen him?" he asked the bartender, pushing the PDA toward him.

"Oh yeah," he said, nodding and thumbing over to the left side of the bar. "He's been out for hours."

"â€¦what?"

"Yeah, come over here and look," he said, leading him around to the end of the bar.

Ianto blinked furiously, looking down at the drunken, sleeping body of the fish he was supposed to bring in. He was on his back, drool pouring out of his open mouth, a bottle in his hand. Blue chrystals scattered on the floor around him where the bag had burst.

"This the guy you're looking for?" the bartender asked. "Is he your husband or something?"

"Ridiculous," he said, whipping out the handcuffs from his utility belt. He was lying on a very odd looking purse.

"What is that?" he asked the bartender.

"A purse, he took it from some poor dear before he came in here I guess."

"For crying out loud..."

.

.

.

.

Kathy looked at the purse with silent confusion as Ianto thrust it at her, the SUV behind him rocking gently on its tyres as something inside raged.

"There was a mugging in Bute park" she nodded, "An old girl heading home from Bingo. Said it was some druggie in a fish mask."

Ianto raised a hand to shoulder level and keyed a button on the car keys, a peep as he unlocked the back door which swung open slowly to revel a pissed off Blowfish raging with his face at the bars as he complained about the smell "It's like something pissed in here. Smells of cat piss. Let me out you fucking mutt."

Ianto touched the button again, another peep and the door slowly closed as the Blowfish's ranting was cut off.

Silence reigned.

Just the gentle breeze as the park breathed the night air.

The SUV rocked some more and Ianto slowly smiled, his look predatory as he slid his hand into his pocket and the keys disappeared.

"Well then" Kathy said slowly, "Thanks Lieutenant. Nice when our divisions work together."

"Good evening Detective" Ianto bowed slightly, in the way ancients do and she fought the urge to curtsy.

"Good evening Lieutenant Jones" she smiled, "Say hello to that mad captain of yours won't you."

Ianto watched her leave the park, his eyes gleaming in the dark as he made sure she got to her prowler in one piece, the wave as she opened the door showing she was well aware of his attention and appreciated the fact he always did that.

A real Gentleman that dragon.


	10. exerising

"Well, the first thing we should start with is why you didn't do an air quality analysis," Ianto said, turning to look at her.

"W-what?"

"An air quality analysis," Ianto said, melodramatically rolling his eyes as he stood next to her looking into the burnt trail left by the impact of something hot. "As I sit here breathing poisonous air..."

"Well, I would need a sensor for that," Gwen said nervously. "I can't tell if the air is poisoned without ...”"

"If it wasn't breathable, we would be dead by now," Ianto cut her off, shaking his head. "You sure have a lot to learn about the dangers of being a Torchwood Agent. You just opened the SUV door when you saw the piece of tech and got out."

"Lieutenant Jones, you wouldn't bring me to a site where the air wasn't breathable." Gwen said smugly, knowing full well he hadn't wanted her for this recon but everyone else was busy and the Captain had pointed at her aimlessly as he had walked past.

"What if this was a test?" Ianto said, folding his arms across his chest. "Or I had forgotten to do the air quality calculation?"

"You didn't, though..."

"Well," he said with a superior glance. "What if I had?"

"Then we would both be dead?"

"Damn straight we would be," Ianto said, acting like he was walking back to the SUV. "You clearly are not ready for field work Grunt. I'm going to..."

"Ianto, you're so funny." Gwen didn't seem the least bit concerned for the air quality nor Ianto's growl of frustration. "So what are we going to analyze first? I can vouch for the air..."

Ianto turned around, annoyed. "Start with the damned burnt leaves."

"Ah!" Gwen said, pulling gloves and a plastic bag from her bag. "I do love carbon analysis."

Ianto glowered as she systematically picked leaves, carefully writing key features about each position before placing the leaves in the bags. Ianto rolled his eyes and began trudging through the forest.

"Are you going to pull some leaves?" Gwen asked, curiously.

"You're the Grunt," Ianto snapped, angrily pushing branches out of the way.

"Of course." Gwen laughed, taking three steps forward and selecting another leaf. "So how much data do you normally collect at an excavation site?"

"Enough," he responded, annoyed that she was taking so long.

"But what's enough for the archives? How do you know when you've gotten a representative sample?"

"When whoever is in charge actually places the piece of tech in the containment box," Ianto said. "Then whatever shit job you were given is done."

"Oh." Gwen stopped, staring at him. "Did you learn this way too?"

Ianto sighed and kept walking, shoving leaves and branches out of the way.

"I see," Gwen said, nodding. "So do you think we'll find any sign of animal life?"

"You were hoping for another cat?" Ianto asked, the previous four going beyond the realm of coincidence and he knew they were probably due another one. He just wasn't sure if they came with the tech or were seeking it the same as them.

He had a weird feeling they were not from the same place as the tech, rather someone's lab here on Earth.

Ianto smiled, pushing the brush away as they ventured further into the dense forest. "The reality is, over two hundred aliens die every year on this planet."

"That's not right..."

"Look it up. Between the animal life, the dangerous terrain, and simply being all alone on a planet, billions of miles away from anyone who could help you...”"

"Ianto, I know what you're trying to do." She snorted and turned away from him.

"Uh-huh, and what's that?"

"Mother does the same thing. She worries about me out in the field. But I believe firmly that the training and back up from your partner..."

"What was that?" Ianto gasped, eager to shut her up quickly.

"What was what?"

"That, did you hear that?" he said, looking around.

"No, I..."

"Christ on a Harley," he swore, peering into the darkness ahead of him. "I think we found the animal life."

"What? I don't see anything..."

" _Run, Gwen!_ " he screamed, pushing Gwen out of the way as he sprinted back the way they'd come.

" _Ianto, wait!_ " Gwen called behind him and he slowed to allow her to catch up.

"Jesus!" Gwen said with her cheeks red from running, but that stupid, vapid smile still on her face. "You are a funny one. That was quite a jog! I normally jog at home, so I don't get a chance to do much trail running. You know there's a ..."

And then, just when things couldn't possibly have gotten worse, Ianto watched in horror as the PDA battery died.

"Oops, I was supposed to charge that wasn't I" Gwen sighed softly.

"Kill me now," he pleaded under his breath.

This was an exercise in futillity.


	11. scrumpy at work

The drive back to the Hub was in silence.

Gwen slid from the seat and carried the dead PDA in as Ianto stood and breathed deeply.

"So how did she go?" Jack asked, seeing his mate's annoyance even without the bond telling him Ianto was ready to explode.

"She is over eager, under trained and slow to respond" Ianto sighed, "She almost killed herself at least three times. If the piece of Rift Junk was anything dangerous I would be offering you a body bag right now."

"Ah" Jack sighed, "Well, we have to start somewhere."

Ianto grunted as he opened the SUV to retrieve the unused kit.

"You've been pissy all week" Jack followed him into the side room where the kits waited, "What is it scrumpy?"

"Stop it" Ianto muttered, "We are on duty."

"Ianto?"

Ianto sighed and turned to face him, "Dreaming about Lisa again. That...place and I am struggling with the fact that the one who I trusted as a potential mate had been double agent helping to track and capture me like a bloody specimen for Torchwood One."

Jack thrust his hands into his pockets as Ianto started to disarm himself, the small pile of weapons growing as he slipped blades and small firearms from pockets.

"Ianto?"

Ianto sighed, "Jack. You of all people know how hard it is wearing a mask all the time. The Treaty was a form of imprisonment for my kind, I still find it hard to accept that my people gave in."

"Well, you didn't" Jack said softly, "When I found you in the basement of the scorched Tower I thought you were dead. Your people fought to get you and your kind out."

"Sometimes I wonder if our deaths would have served a greater purpose" Ianto turned to face Jack and saw his dismay, the bond thrumming with annoyance that died to find Jack's concern stroking his ire.

"I'm sorry" Ianto sighed, "You know she annoys me. I'm just not good company right now. The stars are aligning and it's that time of year."

"Ah. The traditional flight" Jack nodded, "You always feel that keenly. Shit, I should have known. Will you go this year? Just to see them off?"

"No" Ianto turned back to slam another blade down, "Watching those of my kind enjoy the one small window of time that we are allowed to transform and then to fly, soar and mate like that. No. They will never mock me for my infirmity but I know it makes them uncomfortable, having a cripple in their midst."

"You are not a cripple" Jack scolded softly, "You were damaged in that bloody place. Lucky to live, only the fact you are a red dragon meant the terrible things they did, the tortures and tests didn't take you before I even knew you were there. You saw the carcases, you know others were not so lucky."

"Jack" Ianto stepped into his space, "Of all the things I fear, my PTSD making me a nightmare, I never fear our bond. I mean that. I trust you. Always. You are honourable."

Jack smiled softly as he slid his hands around Ianto's waist, pulling him closer, "As are you darling."

Ianto sighed and let his head fall against Jack's. They stood like that for a while as the bond renewed and soothed, then he stepped back and nodded as Jack turned to leave calling over his shoulder "Tell the truth. She's growing on you."

"Like plaque" Ianto muttered to himself and his mate caught the words in his mind, laughing as he skipped down the stairs to see if Owen was still teasing Gwen or not.

Ianto considered things as he pulled the containment box from the back of the SUV. Those cats were getting a worry and next time there might not be a bloody cliff to jump off. Not that he would mind that not happening again, having to fly with his eyes closed and hope the bloody thing was stupid enough to jump after him was not ideal. Nor was having to open his eyes to get down.

Maybe that is why he is dreaming so much.

Ianto wondered if he needed a rest. He did get Burke off the streets after all, didn't kill that worm after all either. Duncan had passed on the drop in drug sales immediately as well as his regards. Ianto knew he was another that had hoped for a pairing once Ianto was deemed well enough to pursue another bond mate. But after Lisa and her betrayal...or whatever her real name was...Ianto knew he would not trust another dragon again.

Honour was a huge thing to him and to have been betrayed by his own still stung.

It had not just been Lisa.

He knew that too.

He had been chosen, dangled and sacrificed on order to find the place the others were kept. The Dragon King's daughter taken a week before him. What really hurt was the fact that he would have agreed if asked, would have wanted to chance to serve.

He had meant that little to them.

Dragons.

He hated being one at all.


	12. SMUT SNIGGER SNIGGER SIGH

Ianto waited until later that day when Jack was off shift and he followed him down to the lower levels where Ianto's personal chambers were and Jack turned to close the door as Ianto entered one of the Horde Rooms.

"I want you, babe." Urgent need coloured his voice.

"I want you, too, Jack." Ianto coiled his arms around his shoulders and held on, never wanting to let him go. He felt a tremor race through his body. He hastily raked his fingers through his hair.

"I really, really need to be inside you." Jack's strangled voice shook as he spoke.

Ianto gyrated against him, needing to soothe the deep ache in his core. He put his mouth close to Jack's and framed his face with his hands. "I stashed some lube tubes here earlier."

Perspiration dotting his forehead, Jack scooped his body in his arms and deposited him on the chaste lounger.

"Where are they?" The intensity in his eyes was almost frightening to him.

Ianto reached behind the chair and pulled one out. Jack took it, ripped the package open, and quickly slicked himself. Once complete, he climbed over Ianto, his cock centred between the closed legs of his dragon.

Unbridled desire burned in his eyes.

"Open for me, Ianto." His voice was rough with emotion.

Ianto widened his legs as he requested, granting him better access. His skin came alive. Their breath mingling, Jack's mouth came down on his. Soft lips played over Ianto's, and tongues joined in a mating dance.

Ianto whimpered and moved restlessly beneath him, aching and hungering for him in ways that shocked him. Without his lips ever leaving Ianto's, Jack's hand dipped between their bodies, circled his dick and balls and prepared him for his entrance.

He inched back, blue eyes smouldering with need when they met Ianto's. Heat flamed through him and boiled his blood. Gentle fingers brushed his forehead.

Ianto loved the way he touched him in such a familiar way. His heart slammed in his chest. He was amazed at how easily he'd lost himself in his touch.

His breath was coming in ragged bursts, and his voice thinned to a whisper. "I love how hot you get for me."

The tip of his cock breached his opening. He moaned and wrapped his legs around his back, forcing him in deeper. His earthy scent closed over him and he thought he'd go mad with desire.

"Please, Jack," he begged, threading his fingers through his hair.

There was such tenderness in his gaze when his eyes locked on Ianto's. "Please what?"

Desperation to feel him inside fuelled Ianto on. He touched his cheek. "I need all of you inside me."

With that, he offered his entire length. Ianto let out a little gasp as his girth pushed open the tight walls of his arse. His heart increased its tempo and a shudder raced through him.

They were joined as one, and Jack began moving, rocking his hips slowly. The sweet friction took Ianto places he'd never been before, filling him with need, with longing.

Together they established a rhythm, meeting and welcoming every push, each giving and taking at the same time.

Heat poured from his body to Jack's, back to his again. Moaning deep in his throat, Jack cradled Ianto in his arms, his cock stroking the spot that needed it most, bringing him to the edge in record time. The man certainly had a talent for knowing just how he liked it, just what he needed.

Even though their lovemaking was softer, slower, deeper, and far more tender than most times, it didn't mean it was any less powerful. In fact, it was so raw, so powerful, and so intimate it sent a riot of emotions coursing through Ianto.

Eyes full of want, Jack shot Ianto a tender look of intimacy. Ianto's throat clogged, his insides turned to mush.

"You feel so good," Jack whispered.

Ianto's thoughts scattered. All he knew was he never wanted this to end. He wanted to keep him inside him forever, but the pressure building in his body became too much to bear.

Ianto's tongue found the warmth of his mouth again. Jack kissed Ianto with such passion; it left him gulping for his very next breath.

A growl crawled out of his throat as tension mounted. Concentrating on the tiny points of pleasure, Ianto gripped his backside, following his motion with his hands, urging him on.

The world around him went fuzzy. His entire body burned from the inside out.

"Harder, Jack," he cried out as a powerful orgasm rolled through him.

Jack began panting, picking up the tempo, driving him to the moon and back over and over, giving his body what it needed to bring him to the peak and keep him there. As his muscles quaked and quivered in erotic delight, he felt his cock clench and throb and knew his orgasm was fast approaching. He tangled his fingers through his hair. Moisture sealed their bodies together.

" _Ianto..."_ He called out his name and stilled as his own orgasm tore through him.

Balancing his weight on his arms, Jack lay on top of Ianto with his chest rising and falling in an erratic pattern. His lips closed over Ianto's for a soft, tender kiss. Everything in Ianto reached out to him. He stayed inside him for a long time, until his cock grew flaccid and slipped out. Jack inched back and rolled to his side and tugged Ianto along with him. When their eyes met, it triggered a craving he couldn't sate.

Gods, this mating cycle sucked.

He can't fly. He can't even provide a child for his mate as they are the same sex. Ianto sighed softly as he delighted in the one thing he could do. Ianto sent a wave of heat through the bond and watched Jack convulse with the mother of all orgasms, the Dragon Blood overloading his senses.

If only he could love him forever.


	13. dumb

"There, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" the Unit doctor said, walking out behind him.

Ianto glared at him as he walked down the hall and rubbed his arm where he'd just given more blood than he'd probably ever given in his entire life.

Not to mention the _invasive_ examination he'd just had to undergo. He could count on one hand the number of people who had gotten that close to his personal business, and was not pleased to add some random doctor to the count.

Bloody Unit and their new rules with regard the HRH's personal crew. Owen had argued that Torchwood was above their rules but then some little weasel had mentioned the idea to HRH and there ya go. Unit still didn't know there was a Dragon on the team, but soon they would. Once those tests were completed there would be some interesting reactions no doubt.

Mind you, Owen might be right. They are thick, might not even check for DNA markers, his wee serum might do it's job and cloak him.

He searched his pockets for his tie pin and realized he must have left it in the examination room. He turned around to walk back in but the doors were self-locking.

"Dammit," he swore.

Well, he supposed it was high time he started wearing his uniform differently, he was supposed to wear the black garb of Torchwood and knew Jack afforded him some free rein as he liked these suits. Gwen had mentioned that he looked...

"Gwen, shit," he said, spinning around. He couldn't remember which room he'd left Gwen in...she was bound to be finished with her own bloodletting soon. He tried to retrace his steps from where she'd left him.

he rounded a corner, and ran into someone.

"We keep bumping into each other..."

It was the young lieutenant again...but this time he had two other officers with him. Still irritated from the examination, Ianto angrily brushed by them, in no mood to talk to anyone right now, least of all these stupid Special Forces idiots.

"Hey, you'd better watch yourself," the one on the left said, grabbing his arm as he passed them by. "You are speaking to three members of the UNIT's Elite Special Forces."

"Oh, you mean the twenty members who haven't gotten an inflated paycheck yet?" Ianto snapped back. "Save yourself the embarrassment and just resign already. They always do."

The lieutenant narrowed his eyes at him, "You seem to know an awful lot about our business, Sir."

"Oh, indeed I do," he grumbled, pushing past them.

He didn't get very far, because one of them grabbed his arm again.

"I'm going to need to see some identification."

He tried not to laugh at him. "You want to see some damned identification, here's my damned identification."

With that he slapped his card down in his hand. The lieutenant scanned his identification then smiled curiously. "That's interesting."

"Yeah, I am." he rolled his eyes. The Torchwood name was fairly uncommon; they probably knew that he was more than just Jack's Lieutenant too. "He's a real asshole, though, if you ask me."

"Well, Dragon Yan, this is an interesting turn of events."

"Yeah, I don't..." he trailed off, looking to him sharply. "What did you just call me?"

He watched in horror as the three UNIT officers raised their guns to point directly at him.

"You are under arrest for being in a restricted area, Dragon Free Zone." The lieutenant smiled as his compatriots raised their guns at him. "Yan."

Ianto gaped at him for a moment until he saw which card he'd given them, and his heart sank into his stomach.

To these three Special Forces officers, he was a dragon, the six hundred and fifty years old .... most wanted in the world thanks to the Torchwood Battle....dragon.

And based on the three guns pointed at his head, it appeared Jack had never lifted the Torchwood Charter after all.

"Shit."

"Don't move a muscle," the one on the right said, holding his gun steady.

"So, about that." Ianto laughed nervously. "You know, I am just so low in the bounty rankings..."

"Says here you're an associate of the Dragon King," the lieutenant said. "That's interesting because I thought we'd killed all his associates."

Ianto's anger flashed, but he was more worried about how in hell he was going to get out of this one. The hall was long and narrow, and they'd have to really be bad marksmen to miss him with those sonic rifles that he knew from experience hurt like hell. Judging by how little they actually did miss, he was sure they spent a lot of time at the firing range.

"Now, put your hands on your head and drop your weapons!" the second officer said, with much less conviction than the lieutenant.

"Seriously," Ianto said, backing up slightly. "I can call the Captain to come sort this out."

"No." The lieutenant smiled. "I think you'll do just fine. It's been a while since we've had a dragon."

Ianto's eyes widened slightly as he smelt their arousals. "Really? I'm like...six hundred."

"Captain says that if we're to come across a dragon, no matter how small, we're to bring him in and he's to die for his crimes." The young officer on the left said, his eyes narrowing at him. "After we are done breaking him, like"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That sounded like something Jenkins would say.


	14. trapped

"Put your hands on your head," the lieutenant said.

Just then, the door opened and a lethargic-looking Gwen came stumbling out of a room. She looked drunk from the blood loss, her eyes were hooded with the after-effects of the medicines provided.

"Who is this?" One of the UNIT officers turned their gun toward Gwen.

"Nobody," Ianto stammered. "I mean, I don't even know who she is."

"I'm Gwen!" she slurred. "Gwen Cooper, Torchwood!"

"Torchwood?" they said, looking at each other.

Ianto, with nothing else to do, grabbed Gwen before she reached the stupid UNIT arses.

" _Unhand her!_ " They barked, turning their guns back to him.

"Say what now?" he blinked, looking at them.

" _I said unhand her!_ " the lieutenant snarled.

He looked down at Gwen, who was starting to sober up, and the UNIT Officers, who obviously had no idea what was really going on.

To them, a Dragon had just taken hold of the Torchwood Agent that they were supposed to be assisting.

He smiled at his good fortune.

"Don't move another muscle, or the bitch gets it," he growled, grabbing her roughly and wrapping his arm around her neck.

"L...- _Gack_!"

"Shut up," he muttered.

"Unhand her!" the lieutenant demanded, his hand tightening on the hilt of his gun.

"How about you go tell your boss that you just insulted the Torchwood Dragon and see how far you get" Ianto snapped back, formulating an escape plan. If he could just get close enough to them...they wouldn't dare try to shoot him with Gwen right there.

"If you harm one hair on her head, I'll have your head on a platter," the lieutenant threatened.

Ianto stepped toward them, Gwen still stuck in a headlock, as if to make a break through them. The UNIT officers jumped, but held their guns steady. Just one more step, and he would be close enough.

Without warning, he thrust Gwen to the side of him, her body smacking against the wall with a loud thud. In the brief moment that the UNIT officers were distracted, he kicked one in the stomach and let his elbow fly into the face of the other. Then he reared his fist back and punched the lieutenant in the chin, sending him backward.

The three officers incapacitated, he turned to peel Gwen off the wall and took off sprinting down the hall.

"Ianto!" Gwen panted. "What is going on!?"

"Shut up and run this time!" he barked back.

They came to a fork in the hallway and ran toward the left, then took another left at the next fork. Up ahead, a patient was walking out of a room. Just before the door closed behind him, Ianto threw Gwen in and jumped in after him, the door closing and locking behind them.

"Ianto!" Gwen gasped, clutching at her chest. "What was that? Why are we running?"

"Keep quiet," he snapped, pulling his ear away from the door. "We have to stay in here for a while."

"What is going on?" Gwen repeated. "Why are you wanted by the UNIT officers?"

"I'll explain later," he mumbled, searching the room for something...anything...to hide his appearance. He found a pair of glasses and adjusted them in the reflection of a shiny cabinet.

"Ianto, are you listening to me?"

"Not really, no." The only safe place right now was back at the Hub, but it's not like he can casually walk down the hall after he was just outted.

He walked around the room, looking at each piece of equipment and sighing when it didn't seem to be able to work for him. He needed something large and hollow, or something to..His ears picked up on the sound of squeaking wheels outside. He walked over to the door, opening it slightly and seeing an orderly wheeling a large garbage cart. Five minutes later, he was wheeling said garbage cart and knocked-out orderly inside the room.

" _IANTO!_ " Gwen screamed. "What in the name of all that is good in this universe are you doing?"

"Finding us a way out of here," he said, turning over the cart and dumping the garbage. "Now I need to get in."

"G...get in?" Gwen blinked, looking at the garbage bin. "Do you know what kind of diseases and...”"

"I don't care. I am getting in."

"Not until you tell me why you attacked those three UNIT officers," Gwen replied.

"If I tell you, will you promise to just get me out of here?"

"Yes," she said. "You have my word."

He took a deep breath and sighed. "The UNIT are after me because I happen to have spent most of my first six hundred years time as Yan, a Red Dragon, and I am technically wanted for destroying Torchwood Towers during the Great Battle."

That was obviously not the answer Gwen was expecting.

" _What?_ "

"There, I told you, now let me get inside," he demanded, pointing at the garbage cart.

Gwen sighed as she saw there was no other way.


	15. team and family

Gwen pulled on a white coat and started to push the bin with a disinterested air, the glasses she had snatched from Ianto on the bridge of her nose like she had seen Toshiko wear hers. She was quite enjoying this, despite the revelation that Owen's jokes were based on fact. A dragon. A real dragon.

Once in the parking level she taped the lid and Ianto dragged his long limbs from the bin and stood looking at disgusted as he was sure he smelt. He climbed into the back of the SUV knowing it would be a smell that would need hosing out.

The Blowfish was right.

It did smell like cat's piss in here.

They drove to the Hub and Jack was there, dragging Ianto out by his heels as Gwen talked animatedly about their great escape, her face flushed with excitement.

Ianto turned his back to her, not caring what she said as he pushed Jack away from him, "I stink. I need to burn this suit and immerse myself in some water before I spontaneously combust."

Jack followed him to the wet room he liked, showers only. Dragons don't like water all that much, Ianto's cleanliness making the wet room ideal.

"Ianto..."

"I don't want to hear platitudes about needing to defend myself, not when I feel your ire" Ianto sighed, "Owen went through hours of work to create the inhibitors to mask my Dragon DNA and then I go and lose it. How the hell can that happen?"

"They challenged you" Jack said softly, "Now, at the time of the Star Flight, they cornered you and you reacted as any Dragon would. Ianto, I am not angry at you, I am angry at this bloody Treaty that keeps you muzzled like this."

"This is not a good time to be cloistered" Ianto muttered as he strode to the middle of the room and Jack moved swiftly to the doorway, watching as Ianto threw his arms wide and transformed into his true self, the huge cavern full of Dragon as the remains of the clothing he had been wearing fluttered in the air, alight with his hatred for their stench.

Not from the garbage.

From the fear.

He was magnificent, red scales the size of Jack's hand that shimmered with orange hues like he was on fire. The rarest of Dragons, he was also Welsh. These were the old blood, the originals from the deep mountain ranges. Also the most sought after as just one of those scales was worth a fortune, rarer than rubies.

You see, that's the thing about dragons. The legends say they hide rare gems in their hoards but that is the lie. They are the rare gems. Their scales were indestructible armour that only the talons of another Dragon can pierce. Why they are now forbidden to wear them.

Jack watched the shower burst into life as Ianto stepped on the correct tile to start the water, his head tilting to expose his throat and Jack saw the one black scale where Lisa had almost killed his love. In human form just a smudge like a bruise on his collar bone.

That day in the tower when the one who had betrayed him, betrayed her kind and caused indescribable damage to Ianto had entered his room to kill him. As the Tower was razed by those struggling to save those trapped inside, Ianto and Lisa fought to the death.

Jack knew how it hurt.

Still does.

They are a bonded pair after all.

.

.

.

.

.

Owen looked up as Jack entered the main Hub, his cuffs wet from the splashing spray of the shower and he looked over at Gwen who had wound down from her adrenalin rush and was now morosely sitting with the knowledge that an ancient creature has been trying to teach her something and she has been treating him with such stupidity. There was a gentle shaking like an earthquake, her mind telling her it was just a train on the other side of the wall but it felt slightly stronger than usual. Proabably just overly sensitive ya dozy cow, she told herself.

Tosh called out, "The results are streaming."

"And?" Owen asked as he straightened one of his toys that had toppled on his desk.

"Nothing, the inhibitors are working, they don't know" she smiled, "The Lieutenant hasn't told the higher ups."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Gwen asked softly and Jack turned to look at her.

"Well, if it means they are backing down because they are embarrassed then it's good. But if it means they think they are going to bag themselves a Dragon its bad" Jack slumped into a chair, "Real bad."

"Which would you put your money on?" Gwen asked as she rose and strengthened her clothing.

"Bad" Owen and Jack answered together as Tosh nodded.

"Well we have to get to them first" she said calmly, "We have to protect Ianto. He's one of us."

"Thank you Gwen" Ianto said as he entered the hub, "I also think it's time we dropped the titles and ranks. You all know I am the oldest in the room, sorry Cariad, and we also know that we are more a family than a team. Let's start acting like it."

"AGREED" they all chanted.

About time.


	16. little hobbit

Jack was in full battle mode as he roared and spat, demanding to know the meaning of the attack on Ianto as he screamed down the phone with extreme malice and bluster.

Ianto felt chagrined to learn the bounty had been lifted by Torchwood but the system had not released it for some reason. Jack had been honourable, as promised. Ianto felt bad now for cursing him, even if he didn't know Ianto did.

"Jack"

"Hmmmm?"

"I believed you hadn't lifted the bounty" Ianto admitted, no secret allowed here, "I cursed you and felt betrayal."

Jack looked up, a moment of annoyance that shifted to a soft smile, "Ianto, I would have turned the air blue too. Of course you doubted for a moment. I can forgive a moment. You got over it, so will I. It's OK. No ill will. You are my mate. I trust you, you trust me. Right?"

"Yes" Ianto admitted, the power he gave Jack with such an admission not going unnoticed as Jack grinned.

"Owen I really need that file if you are finished practicing your Pandiculation" Ianto said as he entered the main Hub and Owen looked up from his desk mid-yawn with surprise.

"My what?

Padiculation. The art of stretching and yawning." Ianto glanced over, "Surely with your amazing abilities it has been pointed out before. Were it an Olympic event you would do us proud."

"Well..Ta. I think" Owen frowned.

"Rhinotillexomania is Rhys' speciality" Gwen said, startling Ianto which is a rare thing to do to a dragon, Ianto hesitating before a loud gawf of laughter echoed through the base.

"OK, I give" Owen snorted, "What the fuck it that one?"

"Nose picking" Gwen giggled, "I actually looked it up one day because I wondered if it was some sort of medical ailment."

Now they all laughed as poor Rhys took the brunt of an attack and Ianto smiled softly as he watched Jack make another call to abuse another official he had previously forgotten about.

Gwen was not doing so bad after all, she was trying to fit in and had at least managed to be one of the family there.

'"So, talking of pickingâ€¦they know where you are, what if they just come and stake out the bloody Plass?" Owen frowned, "Pick you off or something."

"I will electrify the stones" Jack said darkly, "Push a button on the grid and ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

"Yes dear" Ianto rolled his eyes at the playful mate who was doing a fair electrical dance.

"I wish" Owen sighed, "Would fry a few pigeons with that. Bloody flying shit rats."

"Queen's pigeons" Ianto said softly, "Can't kill them."

"If they fry we can say they were seagulls?" Owen made wide eyes and looked like a small child for a moment as he went with Jack's daydream of world domination via zapping thy enemies.

"We can always use the spider mice" Gwen spoke up and Owen went still, his face paling at the mention of the horrible little robots Tosh had created, "put frickin' lasers on their heads."

Some soft laugher as they all dreamed and then Ianto spoke, "Well, face recognition would help, Tosh has finished that now. Someone that is not here regularly but suddenly is from now on as we will not have been survailled. Tosh?"

"Not a problem Ianto" she said, revelling in the use of his name instead of rank, "it has been running all week so I can tell it to collate from today onwards."

"Do you think it will be that easy?" Gwen asked, watching Jack pace like a caged animal while Ianto seemed so still he was a marble sculpture with slate eyes.

"They are simple children with limited imagination" Ianto finally said, "They will think it is that easy, yes. We need to be careful though, they will also expect retaliation for trying."

"Tell me something I don't know" Owen sighed.

"The Cookie Monster's real name is Sid."

Owen blinked, "Huh?"

"Something you probably didn't know. The Cookie Monster was called Sid before he found cookies, he said so in an early episode" Ianto said as he settled, "Sesame Street is an interesting place."

Owen blinked and then roared with glee, slapping his knee as he goggled and found Ianto was telling the truth. Cookie Monster's real name was Sid.

How about that.

"That's my code name!" Owen declared, "I am Cookie Monster!"

"The first one to call me Big Bird dies" Ianto said and they sniggered.

"Mister Sunfagulufus" Jack spluttered, "The imaginary friend who really was."

"Stop it" Ianto demanded, then started to snigger.

"I want to be called Minerva" Tosh said suddenly, "Like the Harry Potter character that was a cat when not a professor."

"OK" Jack smiled, "I'm gonna claim Black Beard."

"Not a pirate and no bread" Owen said.

"He is a pirate actually" Ianto blinked, "Maybe something simple. Like ... Peter Pan."

Jack frowned, then smiled as he shrugged, "OK, be a bugger. I would rather be the tick tock crocodile though. OK. Hook. I'll be Hook. Yeah. I like that."

Owen started to snort and then giggle as Ianto's eyes slid his way. "What."

"Does that make you Tinker Bell?"

Owen had the sense to run as Ianto roared and sprung at him.

Owen's laughter was so childlike as he ran, the tickle monster close behind.

"Ianto should be Smaug."

"Ooooo, yeah. Same sexy voice" Jack agreed.

The deep booming laughter punctuated with shrieks and giggles seemed to agree.

Smaug had his bad little hobbit well in hand.


	17. A little Faith

Ianto slid along the alley, his destination ahead darker than his mood and he entered to find her waiting.

The table covered with a green cloth and the pack of cards sitting silently accusing them both of meddling.

"Faith"

"Dragon."

Ianto settled in the chair opposite and the little girl tapped the top of the deck, indicating for him to cut it, which he did without blinking.

She grunted and picked up the deck, shuffling and resetting.

Again he cut.

Again she shuffled and he held out his hand.

"Three times for luck" he whispered to himself as he cut a final time and the little girl blinked slowly at him, her eyes gleaming green in the florescent lighting.

She plucked a card from the top of the cut deck and placed it down, then turned it over knowing the dragon preferred it this way. These visits not unusual amongst old friends.

"The lovers. You may be facing a choice or decision in relation to work. Analyze all available information, then make your best choice. It's possible that what you initially interpret as a bad thing will turn out to work in your favour. Be cautious about mixing business with romance; if you chose to go there, make sure you know exactly what the stakes are." She said softly, "Now, next?"

Ianto watched the next card reveal itself and he snorted, "The Tower? "Sudden reversals can happen now. This is not an indicator that you need to panic. It is, however, an indicator that forewarned is forearmed. Something is coming and not everyone will be onboard. This ...I feel...no. Next."

"Tower reversed" she corrected with surprise, "it is important in the next few days for you to be careful and to pay particular attention to what you are doing in situations which could be dangerous, like, perhaps, driving, or on the shooting range! Stay steady and know that this too will pass"

"So" Ianto said slowly, "This is a strange coupling."

"The one sitting on top is now the Empress" she said with a frown, not even turning it over, "This is a strange turn of events."

"So, lovers, a tower and an empress?" Ianto canted his head, and she hummed as she complied a reply.

"Right. Two lovers, Gemini. Two. Not necessarily lover, it may refer to the two sides of you. Tower reversed and her. Hmmm. So, something is coming. There is a danger that will test you not only in this world but the other. The Empress is also a warning. Power is strong here, but she signifies a problem to be solved. As a nurturer she is trying to help you with this. Curious. A loved one needs help, light in the dark."

"Faith" he warned.

"OK, gods. There is something coming, a problem to solve that will not only involve your workmates and your beloved but it will impact others in your world. The yen to your yang? You are being warned to step carefully, be vigilant and hold yourself true. Do not jump to conclusions and you must have faith. It will pass."

"They are drawing close, a time will come when a net will be cast" Ianto growled, "They seek."

"And they shall find" she replied as she scooped the cards up, "However, what they find may not be what they seek."

Ianto leaned back as he watched her hands shake.

"Faith?"

"It is the lovers that worries me" she said after a while, "You have not mated, you cannot truly mate to the Captain yet he holds your heart. Dangerous. I still do not believe it denotes you and the Captain. There is no danger between you but I feel that the trust in each other will be tested, I read a time of temperance is warned of. Stay the course, be true and faithful and above all else do not lose faith in your workmates."

"Thank you sweetheart" Ianto rose and placed his hand on the table as if steadying himself and then he slid from the parlour making her blink as it darkened without his natural light intensifying the candlelight. Her hand shot out to snatch the gold doubloon and the small chocolate kiss sitting on top then she slid the gold piece into her pocket as she popped the chocolate into her mouth and moaned as it melted.

Of all the beings she read for, this was her favourite. Not only did he show respect with the old piece of power, he also showed respect with a sweetie for a little girl. She may be older than that Captain of his but still he saw the child trapped for an eternity in this world.

As Ianto passed the large imposing man at the door he dropped the bundle of money into his hand and then flicked up the coat lapels, heading for the alley that led back to the side entrance to the quay office.

The man watched him become nothing more than smoke in the fog surrounding them, the only visitor that ever unnerved him and he turned into the doorway, pulling the door behind him. The money was placed in the box under the counter, the little one never touched the stuff. That creature always gave more than others, his worry for her evident as he not only protected her as much as he could but the large man also knew that lithe figure had spilt blood in her honour once.

It was a dangerous night to be above ground.

That thought had him following his little mistress for the elevator that led down to her lair, safe and warm as the world turned outside.

Something was coming.

The fear in the air more cloying than the evening heat.


	18. bloody Rhys

Gwen was trying to reach Rhys, getting increasingly annoyed as she huffed softly, "He never misses his three o-clock pie break. The bugger must have lost the bloody thing again.

Ianto spun to look at her, his brain whirring as he glanced at Jack and saw that he had the same idea.

"Tosh, call up his phone would you?" Jack said with forced joviality, "If the twit lost it we can find it and give him some stick over it."

Tosh nodded and tapped, then frowned as the map showed it in an area that was not a normal place for humans. Not at all.

The towers.

They drove like maniacs, Gwen still confused until they started to draw hear the imposing dark building with smaller ones surrounding it like children with their god. Jack brought the SUV to a halt and they spilled from it.

Ianto, Jack, and Owen sprinted across the road, hugged the shadows of the buildings, and reached number 168 without incident.

Owen raised the 'Enforcer', a hand-held metal battering ram. "Stand back, Mate. Give me room."

"Hold on. Let's try and do this without raising the alarm or waking the neighbours." Jack removed a leather wallet the size of a darts case from his breast pocket. He opened it, chose the smallest lock pick and thin retainer, and started work on the cut-price three-lever mortise lock.

"Bloody hell, mate," Owen said. "You can pick locks?"

"You can't?"

"Probably. You sure you can open that one?"

"I'll let you know in a sec," he said and smiled as the levers clicked into place and the door handle turned. "Well, how about that? It appears I haven't lost my touch."

Owen shook his head. "All these years as your medic and you're still full of surprises."

Ianto pushed. The door opened a couple of inches, but stopped as a thick security chain reached its limit. He leaned hard against the door, but the chain refused to budge. "So much for the silent approach. Over to you and your friend, Owen."

He stood back, Owen swung, the Enforcer connected, and the front door crashed open, slamming back against the hallway wall. They all knew Ianto could have slammed in but Owen did appreciate the bone.

Once inside, they faced a small lobby and two more locked doors. Ianto nodded. "Might as well carry on. The whole household knows we're here."

Two more crunching blows followed.

The left-hand door led into a well-lit lounge. Ianto pointed to the staircase behind the second one and forced down every instinct in his being to allow Jack to lead the way, yelling, "Torchwood! Armed Torchwood!"

Ianto sprinted up the staircase. Owen, slowed by the weight of the 'Enforcer' and whooping for air, struggled to match their pace.

Their footsteps, loud on bare treads, echoed against constricting white walls covered in dark scuffmarks. On a small landing at the top of the first flight, they ignored another locked door, and took the next flight, which turned back at one-hundred-and-eighty degrees to the first. They continued the zigzag approach and five flights later, reached their target. Jack waited, with lungs and thighs burning, while Owen swung the ram. The final door crashed open with a satisfying crump of splintered wood and shattered glass. Jack called, "Torchwood!" again, and dived through the opening.

Owen dropped the Enforcer and darted after him, Ianto close on his heels. Apart from Owen and Jack, the room was empty. A tidy lounge: sofa, large, flat-screen television, dining table, chairs. Clean. New.

Jack and Owen searched the rest of the flat and returned shaking their heads.

"Kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, all empty," said Owen, red in the face and blowing hard. Ianto looked cool and collected, barely a hair out of place.

Curtains rippled in a breeze. Owen, closer than Ianto, reached them first. He drew them back and popped his head through an open sash window that overlooked the street. "Damn it. He's on the roof!" He ducked back into the room. "Lost sight of him behind a chimney stack. Must be heading for the back gardens."

Without warning, Owen straddled the windowsill and disappeared.

"No." Ianto pushed his head through the opening. "Get back in here! The fish is a killer and those roofs aren't safe!"

Crabbing sideways, Owen slipped on a loose tile.

Fear snatched Ianto's breath before Owen regained his balance and flattened himself against the sloping roof.

He turned his face toward Ianto, puffed out his cheeks, and winked before continuing his sideways crawl.

"Get back in here, you idiot," Ianto yelled, but Owen disappeared around a jutting dormer window.

Ianto raised his coms unit. "Gwen, are you receiving me?"

" _Loud and clear sir, over."_

"Owen is on the rooftops heading back towards you. Jack and I are in pursuit. Keep your eyes open and let me know if anyone spots the suspect. Got that?"

" _Yes, sir, over."_

"And stop calling me sir. You don't have to say over either."

He turned back into the room. "Jack, get down to street level. Keep me informed about what you see. I'll be able to hear, but not to speak for a while."

"You are going out there?"

He shrugged. "Can't let young Owen have all the fun, now, can I?"

"Ianto, I should go. You are.."

"Too old?"

Jack shook his head. "No, too ... valuable. Besides. High."

Ianto glared at him and Jack shrugged. "OK. Be careful,"

Ianto leaned out the window again and pressed the com button. "Owen? Where's Molloy?"

Ianto could see nothing but the tired grey slates of the roof, the dormer window, and the washed-out sky.

Silence.

Of course there'd be silence, Owen could hardly use the damned coms with his hands gripping roof tiles. Hr hadn't turned it to open channel. Idiot.

" _Mate_ _? Can you hear me?"_

The static in his earpiece distorted the sound, but Ianto could never mistake Owen's cockney voice.

"Owen? What's happening?"

" _Can't see him. I'm at the rear of the buildings, two houses away. He might have crossed back and headed your way_. _"_

"Can't see anything but the edge of this roof. Hang on, I'm coming out. Stay where you are and make sure he doesn't double back."

He curled his lip in distaste at the moss, dirt, and pigeon droppings carpeting the slates. Gloves would have been useful, but he couldn't spare the time and they'd be torn to shreds in seconds. He took a deep breath, lifted a reluctant foot over the sill, and found himself on a narrow ledge made of crumbling cement.

Oh gods help him, here we go.

Don't look down.


	19. fuckity fuck

Ianto hadn't covered more than three yards before dislodging a tile, which slid and fell in a clattering, scraping, sandpaper rattle, shattering on the pavement six floors below. He swallowed, grateful to have cleared the pedestrians from the street. He sucked in another deep breath before following Owen's trail.

A gust of wind tugged at his jacket, threatening his balance. Ianto grasped the rough brickwork with limpet hands and waited for the breeze to die.

_What in Goddess' name am I doing?_

Ianto gripped a window ledge and paused for breath.

Four more buildings remained on the row, including the rooftop garden and two with the A-frames pitched as steep as a ridge tent.

Up ahead, Owen had reached the final roof and crawled along the ridge beam. He made the gable end brickwork and turned back to signal he was okay.

"Can you see him, Owen?" he called, close enough not to need the coms.

Owen shook his head and lowered himself out of sight. The last Ianto saw were his fingertips as they relaxed their grip on the roof's edge. He tried to ignore the white smear of pigeon droppings inches from his nose, but the ammonia seared his nostrils and he gagged. The earthy smell of damp moss didn't do much to help either.

Scraped knees stung and scuffed trousers were ruined. The flap in the back of his jacket billowed open and the chill air dried the sweat around his kidneys.

Fingertips, rubbed raw on sandpaper rough tiles, bled.

Smeared with dirt and grime, he doubted they'd ever be clean again.

He pushed on.

Ianto' arms trembled with the effort of keeping his body away from the tiles. The angle of his current roof canted thirty degrees from vertical, better than the first roof, but he didn't have a decent ledge to stand on.

Sweat stung his eyes but he couldn't loosen his grip to wipe it away.

He scrabbled, slipped, and grasped. More tiles loosened and fell. With lungs on fire and legs trembling, he made the final ridge and rested.

"Mate?" Owen called.

"Yes?"

"There's a loose brick on the chimney," he said, panting. "Left hand side, five rows down from the top. Take care."

Ianto spotted the offending article. "Got it, thanks."

He fixed his gaze on the chimney ten yards away and slid his right foot forward, arms splayed wide for balance. At least the wind had died a little.

_Died? Hell, why did you think that?_

Since stepping through the window, Ianto had seen neither hide nor hair of Molloy. Had the bugger escaped?

The double width chimney provided an island of calm; he paused again, before lowering himself over the side onto a flat, felt-and-tar roof about eight yards long and five wide. Taller houses crowded around, pressed in, watching the chase.

Owen stood at the far side, peering over the edge, a black sweater clutched in his right hand. He turned, shrugged, and raised the dark cloth.

"Molloy must have dumped this to change his appearance. Damned fish all look the same."

"Any sign?"

Owen shook his head and Ianto stepped out across the flat expanse to join him.

The roof bounced and creaked underfoot.

Ianto stopped mid-stride. Hairs on the back of his neck prickled. He stared at the tar below his feet.

Cracked and dry. Ancient.

_Oh hell._

A shout in the street below caught Ianto' attention.

He jerked his head up to see the young ex-police constable, Gwen, dive headlong. She brought down a fleeing man with a flying tackle good enough to grace the hallowed turf of Twickenham. They landed in a twisting tangle of writhing arms and legs. Jack emerged from the shadows armed with his Webley and pair of handcuffs to assist with the capture.

"Well done, Gwen!" Ianto called.

"Got him!" yelled Owen and punched the air, waving Molloy's sweater like a victory flag.

He turned and stepped toward Ianto, a stupid grin cracking his face.

"Bugger," he said brushing his hands together. "Scrambling over the rooftops like Spiderman was a complete waste of time."

As he closed on Ianto's position, the roof below their feet splintered.

"Look out!" Owen screamed.

He pumped out his arms, piston fast, and slammed them into Ianto' chest.

Ianto fell backwards, towards the safety of the gable wall, and stumbled. He caught hold of a jutting soil pipe with torn, scratched hands, and fought for balance as the blacktop roof fell away from his scrambling feet.

"Owen!"

Owen, arms flailing, eyes wide, mouth agape in a scream drowned out by the thunderous explosion of creaking wood and shattering skylight glass, dropped like a rock.

He disappeared in a cloud of soot, black dust, and rubble.

"Fuck!" Ianto roared, the desire to transform almost overwhelming as he watched his friend disappear into the void.

"Perfect!"


	20. faith and loyalty

"Oh, Moon Mother! Owen!"

Ianto scrambled to his feet and stared through a hole the shape and size of two double beds. The remains of the roof...four triangular pieces...teetered on the brink of collapse.

"Owen! Are you okay?"

Silence.

He searched the mangled surface for a safe way down. Couldn't find one.

The echo of the collapse still rumbled in his ears. His heart pounding, but he couldn't move for fear of dropping more rubble on top of Owen.

Ianto released cramped hands and screamed into the coms unit. "Officer down, officer down! Call an ambulance, now!"

Grit scratched his eyes. Soot clogged his nostrils. He sneezed. A sheet of loose cladding fell with a crunch.

Petrified, Ianto stopped moving.

"Owen!" he screamed. "You okay?"

Seconds ticked by like hours before the dust cleared.

Owen lay flat on his back in an oasis of space among the debris, staring up at Ianto through the hole. A groan escaped pale lips. He lifted a hand to wave but the effort seems too great and he winced before dropping it to his chest.

"Hi, mate," he called, voice weak, barely reaching Ianto's ears. The table, on which Owen lay, had collapsed and cushioned his fall.

From Ianto' position above and to the left, Owen looked perfectly fine until he lowered his gaze and saw it. A tubular metal rod...the broken table leg...protruded through Owen's arm. The fractured, rusty, jagged end erupted through the skin, an inch above the elbow. Blood oozed through the gash.

"Oh God, Owen! Your arm."

Owen, face pale, frowned in question and looked down.

His eyes gaped and turned to look up at Ianto once more. He frowned and gave the thumbs up sign. "I'm okay, mate. Don't feel a thing. How are you?"

"For God's sake, don't move your arm! Don't even twitch."

"No worries mate. I'm going nowhere for a while."

"An ambulance is on the way. So is the fire brigade."

Owen hugged trembling arms to his chest. The ring finger on his right hand stuck out at an unnatural angle.

His eyes focused on the finger and then on the thing sticking through his arm. His face clouded. "Oh, fuck!"

Ianto' heart flipped. "What's wrong?"

"Guess I'll be missing that Star Trek marathon after all, eh?"

Ianto leaned forward and searched the ruined roof for a way down. Half the roof had given way and the triangle on which he stood creaked and groaned each time he shifted weight. He eased back against the brickwork and kept his breathing shallow as though that would help matters.

Plywood panels with vicious jagged edges and covered in roofing felt dipped into the room below. The largest piece hung precariously over Owen's head.

Wooden rafters and smaller batons, most of them dark with wet rot, lay on the floor around Owen like an abandoned game of pick-up-sticks. Move any of them and the rest of the roof could collapse, with Owen underneath.

_Think hatchling, think._

Ianto tried to reconstruct the room in his mind.

A conservatory or day room, three of its walls, made of brick, still stood strong. The fourth, the one facing the garden, comprised large double windows and centrally positioned French doors. Ianto peered through the gaping hole. A ray of sunlight flooded the corner between wall, window, and the thirty-degree slope of the hanging roof segment.

The natural spotlight illuminated an inviting voidâ€”a few square feet of hope. But how could he reach the space?

If he shuffled ten feet along the wall against which he rested, he could make the jump. An eight-foot leap onto a carpeted floor no more than five feet square...should he risk it?

No, too dangerous.

He'd have to wait for the rescue team.

Movement darkened the right-hand window. A face appeared behind the pane...Jack. He pushed his face against the glass, cupping his hands around his eyes to see inside.

"Jack," Ianto yelled. "Stay back or you'll have the whole lot down on Owen's head."

Jack backed away. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but Owen's hurt. Where's Gwen?"

"Guarding Molloy. The bastard's laughing his head off. I nearly tore it from his fucking shoulders."

"The ambulance?"

"Be here in less than ten minutes."

Ianto checked Owen's arm again.

_Gods, no!_

The patch of blood pooling around the wound was bigger, much bigger. Owen's face and hands were deathly white and he'd stopped shaking. He hadn't moved or spoken in minutes.

"Owen doesn't have that long. Stand back and keep everyone else away."

"Are you sure?"

"Do as you're told, Cariad!"

With back flattened against the rough brick, Ianto crabbed to his right, filled his lungs and held it in as though the air might make him lighter. The roof at his feet squeaked and the panel eased away from the wall plate ...its anchor into the brickwork. He stopped. Another foot and the roof would give way.

The corner void was closer. Was it close enough?

_Time to drop your fears, release your cares and become._

The blood flowed from Owen's arm and the puddle on the floor spread wide.

The dragon jumped.

* * *

 


	21. Calming down

Ianto craned his neck and stared at Jack through the cracked glass of the French doors. He mouthed the question, "Ambulance?"

Jack tapped his watch and raised two fingers.

He'd been on the ground for eight minutes and still Owen hadn't moved. His ankle throbbed so much he thought it might be broken, but he pushed the pain to the dark place in his head where he stored all his hurt.

On his knees in the muck and blinking against the dust, he wiped grit from Owen's face with his special handkerchief...the clean one he kept for emergencies.

The patient's pulse was slow but strong and his breathing steady. Although the blood pool around his body was hideously large, he might have staunched the flow in time.

He lowered his head and spoke into Owen's ear.

"Doctor Harper, you're on duty. Wake up and stop malingering."

Owen twitched, groaned. His eyelids fluttered.

Ianto raised his head to the sky and bit back a cry of joy, but Owen wasn't safe yet.

"About time, Cookie Monster," he said, and flicked the dirt from his handkerchief.

"Sorry, mate," Owen said, voice slurred, weak. "Janet's been up through the night. She has that kennel cough thing Weevils get sometimes. Keeping me awake with worry. Didn't mean to nod off. Fancy popping down to the local for a ..." His eyes opened and the pupils narrowed to pinpricks. "Where? ...Oh fuck."

With his tie now a tourniquet Ianto removed his ruined jacket and folded it into a pillow before placing it under Owen's head. It had torn easily as his wings had materialised and he needed to hide that fact anyway. He shuffled away, taking care not to nudge the rubble. "You young idiot, what were you thinking, scrambling across the bloody rooftops? Think of all those health and safety incident forms they'll make me fill out."

Owen's lips stretched into a weak smile. "Sorry, mate. Won't do that again in a hurry."

He lowered his eyes.

"Crap ... Tosh's going to kill me for ruining this suit. Only had it dry cleaned a couple of days ago." He tried to sit up but Ianto held him down by his shoulders.

"Don't move, Owen. Wait for the paramedics."

"It hurts, Yan. Throbs like a ... throbbing thing."

"I know, son, but I can't loosen the tourniquet. The ambulance won't be long now."

As though in response the ululating wail of approaching emergency vehicles made Ianto's heart leap.

"See? Told you. And by the way, you owe me a new tie."

.

.

.

.

Ianto hated the powerlessness. It ate away at him from the inside, but he could do nothing except watch and pray. Relegated to the garden with Jack's Great Coat on to cover the shirt's torn back, holding onto a halogen lamp for support, and staring through the now open French doors, he watched the fire fighters work with efficiency. Hurrying but not rushing, the professionals barely spoke; each individual understood their role in the task. Within minutes of their arrival, they'd stabilized the teetering roof with hydraulic jacks and webbing clamps, and had escorted Ianto away from the area...despite his angry protests.

The fire fighters allowed the paramedics access only when they deemed the structure safe.

The green-clad and white-helmeted paramedics attached Owen to a plasma drip and slipped an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. They applied a positive pressure bandage before removing Ianto' makeshift tourniquet. The leader...red-faced, slim, and in his late thirties...checked Owen's vital signs.

Ianto held his breath until the man looked up and gave him the thumbs up, and then lowered his head to give silent thanks to whoever, or whatever, protected injured idiots.

Movement at his side caused Ianto to tear his eyes from the rescue tableau. Jack stood close enough to brush his arm "Any news, love?"

"Owen's alive. That's all I know." His voice cracked and he coughed away a constriction in his throat.

Images of the two large blood pools he'd seen that day flooded the screen in Ianto's head.

"The prisoner?" he asked, sounding stronger, more controlled.

"He is secure in the van. Gwen is guarding him. Rhys' phone was in his pocket."

"The street?" Ianto glanced at a thoroughfare lit by streetlamps, clear of traffic and pedestrians.

"The uniforms have set up road blocks. All is under control, but ..."

"But?"

"Swanson will be here soon," he said, straight-faced.

_Great, that'll help._

They looked through the French doors again in time to see the paramedics brace Owen's arm while the fire fighters sliced through the metal bar with a pair of hydraulic cutters.

Owen screamed as the rod sprang free, jarring his arm...a hideous sound Ianto would never forget.

Two minutes later, Owen, on a stretcher carried by the paramedics, emerged into the cool evening air. Ianto had his first clear sight of the injury. His stomach lurched and he had to force down the upsurge of vomit.

_Jeez-Louise._

He hoped like hell there was something in the cess pool Owen called a Med-bay that would fix it once they managed to get him out of that bloody hospital.

Jack's warn hand that slid inside the coat and around his waist to the bare back was a comfort.


	22. No closer

After the paramedics strapped Owen into the ambulance, Ianto watched them chose one to approach the scary Torchwood men "Are you in charge here, sir?"

Ianto introduced himself and reached into his hip pocket for his warrant card, but the man waved a dismissive hand.

"Blood flow to the hand has been compromised." He leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Could mean amputation."

"No!" The pavement tilted under Ianto's feet. He took a step back.

"We won't know until they get him into theatre but it doesn't look good," the paramedic continued. "I'm sorry, Sir, but we really need to go."

Ianto thanked the man and watched as the ambulance pulled slowly away and turned right at the traffic lights, its blue flashers cutting beams through the dark and raking across the Victorian facades. It headed for Queen Elizabeth's Hospital where an orthopaedic team waited prepped and ready to hack into Owen's arm as Tosh worked furiously to divert the ambulance to where they could snatch Owen back out of sight of the public that had been watching.

_What a Gods-awful mess._

Bone weary and wanting nothing more than to jump into a steaming hot shower but knowing it wouldn't happen for hours, Ianto slumped against the side of the Heddlu van. His thoughts turned to the cause of Owen's injury and the reason for the disastrous raid. Molloy sat inside the van handcuffed to an anchor point, giggling like an audience member at the Comedy Store.

When he saw Ianto staring, Molloy raised his free hand and waved. He said something but the background noise of compressors and rush hour traffic at the crossroads drowned out his words. The anger on Gwen's face, the bared teeth, and the raised fist, drove Ianto forward. He yanked open the rear doors.

Molloy's smug grin widened. He giggled. "Did the poor agent fall and give himself a boo-boo?"

"Shut your mouth!" Ianto started to climb into the van. The prisoner's eyes bulged. He cowered back and covered his face with his hands.

"See that, Mother?" he said to the empty seat at his side. "The man shouted at me."

Ianto remembered the empty confusion in Burke's eyes and saw the same vacant stare when looking into Molloy's pale blues. He backed out of the van and leaned against the open door, grinding his teeth and digging his fists into his thighs.

_Another nutcase? The whole world is bloody cracked. That blue powder is turning all of them into nut jobs._

"What was that, Mother?" Molloy asked, leaning to his left and offering his ear. "Really? You want one of my songs. Okay, give me some time to think up a good one."

Ianto' anger dissipated in the pointlessness of trying to drag sense from a raving lunatic. He turned away and started pacing. Pain from his turned ankle reminded him of the impact with the day room floor, but at least it wasn't broken. In his training days, he'd learned how to fall properly. Back then, he would have made the jump without a problem, but that was half a lifetime ago. When had he become such a feeble, old man?

_Running over rooftops at your age? Stupid, stupid, stupid._

"Are you okay?" Jack asked, pointing to his limp. Ianto nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

A low giggle from inside the van drew Ianto's attention. Molloy looked directly at him, threw his hand into the air, waving as though he were a primary school pupil desperate to attract teacher's attention. "Sir, sir, I have to pee."

Then he grinned as he flopped out his little dick and sprayed the back of the van.

"Bastard!" Ianto screamed and pushed forward, fingers curved into claws.

He wanted to dig his thumbs into the maniac's eyes; to feel his hands around Molloy's neck; to squeeze the life out of the murdering bastard. He wanted to flame the fucking arsehat in his little metal oven.

Ianto blinked, shook the rage from his head. He backed a couple of paces away and stared at his hands. Torn, filthy, still covered in Owen's blood, he couldn't stop them shaking.

Ianto signalled for Jack and Gwen to follow him into the road and they left Molloy ranting to his invisible parent. He said nothing until they were far enough away from the van to speak freely.

"Right, Tosh is diverting," he said, lifting his hand and pinching his index finger and thumb together. "I was that close to killing the ... fish."

"Don't blame you for it, Yan." Jack sighed, "It will be a late one with the scalpel to fix this mess and Owen is going to be out of it for at least the rest of the bloody night."

"So what about Rhys?" Gwen asked, now almost beside herself.

"Tosh is using the fish's phone and Rhys' to triangulate where they met. Chances are, that was where he swiped the phone and Rhys is either tied up in a closet or blissfully unaware that the phone is even gone." Ianto soothed, hoping it was true as Jack nodded his agreement.

Gwen wrung her hands as she tried to accept his words, after all Dragons do not lie.


	23. Really?  Huh

"Hello love" Rhys said happily as Gwen slammed into their apartment, her eyes wide.

"Hello Rhys" Ianto said calmly and Rhys turned with surprise.

"Ianto, hello buddy." He lit up, "Are you staying for tea? I made my...Jack?"

"He is my Jack actually" Ianto said calmly, "Rhys. Where is your phone?"

"Lost it" he shrugged as he wiped his hands on a tea towel, "Damnedest thing, I left it in the cab of the truck and it was just gone."

Gwen sighed softly as she shook her head, then slumped on the sofa.

"Yes Rhys" Ianto said as he moved to the window to peer out, "We shall stay for the meal. We have someone following us and I would rather let them cool their heels in the rain."

"Shit" Jack growled, "I thought we had left them behind at the last set of lights."

"Nope."

"Well, sit yourselves down and I will sort this." Rhys said happily as he turned to Gwen, "So how was your day love?"

"Oh you know" she smiled, "We ran about in the rain, went fishing and then Owen fell through a roof and broke his arm."

"Shit, is he OK?"

"He will be fine, Tosh is seeing to him now" Ianto replied, "We are staying out of her way. Oh, your phone."

Ianto placed it calmly on the table and Rhys scooped it up, sliding it into his pocket.

"Ta Old Father" he said softly as he moved past and Ianto smiled at the hatchling.

If Gwen was not mated to a youngling she might not have survived her basic training under Ianto's talon but as he could smell him on her from the first he allowed her some leeway.

Rhys had moved into the kitchen as Jack blinked slowly, mouthing 'old father' at his mate and Ianto grinned.

Gwen had no idea.

Typical.

Jack snorted softly and looked out the window as he tried not to laugh.

.

.

.

.

Owen was asleep when they reached the Hub, the leftover lasagne going into the warmer as he would wake with a terrible hunger form the healing.

"Has she calmed down now?" Tosh called out and Jack skipped down to talk to her, soothing her with his gentle hug and smile.

Ianto knew he should really go down as well but his anger was still raw and it was warm enough in the Hub without him looking at his injured friend and turning it into a furnace as he smoulders with rage.

Instead he chose to check the Facial Recognition Software for any pings and watched a man walk calmly across the Plass to place a screwed up newspaper into the bin outside the quay office. His Dragon eyes watched the small button camera on the bin get adjusted slightly.

Really?

How old fashioned.

Ianto watched for a while, then snorted softly as a black bird swooped down, stealing the camera and flying off as the man gaped with horror. Ianto sniggered as he looked up, the bird entering through the skylight of the water tower to drop the camera into his hand.

"Thank you Raven" he said softly as she canted her head and then took off back out to her mistress who waited patiently in her little dress with those bloody cards.

"Witch" Ianto muttered with genuine affection as he crushed the camera underfoot and took a deep breath, looking up as Myfanwy shuffled to the edge of her aviary to peer down at him, her ancient eyes full of question.

"I will tell you later old mother" he called up to the oldest Dragon that still breathed and she moved back to her dark nest.

Ianto looked back at the screen and frowned as he wondered what the hell might happen next, then looked down at his suit and sighed. He rose and headed for his wet room, itching from the dust and grime he had gathered during his little jaunt across the rooftops.

It was not until he was under the spray that it occurred to him that he had looked down, into the room where Owen had lain without a hint of fear as his concern for Owen had been more important and he wondered if he needed to remember that. Fear is nothing compared to loss.

He looked down at his ankle that was already healing and also knew it had been badly damaged when he had jumped, wishing he could have transformed fully instead of the basic 'angel wing' of a yearling.

Maybe one day.

For now he would settle for having his family close.


	24. time to move

Ianto looked at the phone and sighed, walking through to Jack's office and handing it wordlessly to Jack who glanced down at it while Owen continued his report from the sofa with his arm gently elevated, the last aches slowly fading as the residual effects of the alien tech used to heal him lingered.

"Shit, is this good?"

"Yes, this informant gave us that smuggling ring last year" Ianto replied, "If there are fish in that building, there are more drugs."

"Well, let's go see" Jack let his feet slam onto the floor and he rose, Ianto already heading for the coat rack.

Tosh took the CCTV footage from the main servers and went over the last few days, confirming the arrival of several fish, Ianto cursing under his breath as he glanced over at Jack. This was looking more and more like a damned Fish convention each passing minute.

"Jack? It's weird, I am seeing a lot more vehicles turning in." Tosh warned them as the SUV drew closer, "Jack, if I didn't know better I would say there is something going down. You are walking into a meeting."

"Don't worry Tosh" Jack replied, "I am sure my invite just got lost in the post."

Ianto checked his weapon and settled back in the passenger seat, his military mind already going over the schematics for the building Tosh had pulled up before they had left the hub. He knew there was an open space in the middle that would be perfect for a meet and greet, large enough for vehicles to park, people to posture and Blowfish were known for making flamboyant gestures like that.

"We need to take the South entrance" he told Jack who nodded, taking his mate's instruction without a second thought, their usual method of simply going with each other's gut reactions a given.

It had rankled, leaving Owen behind but he was not yet there, not yet. Still too newly healed. Gwen was the sole back seat passenger and her excitement thrummed as she checked her flat jacket again, her eyes flicking between her two superior officers, her brothers now.

"Jack?" Ianto strained in his seat as they turned into the compound, "What the hell is this? Look at those Unit SUVs over there, what in the seven hells!"

Jack frowned as he glanced at Ianto, pulling the SUV around behind the other vehicles so it looked like just another black SUV in the pack. They disembarked and Gwen moved to flank the two men who powered forward with extreme intent on their faces, weapons at their hips.

Ianto slid along the wall and Gwen took the stairs, moving along the mezzanine level as the Jack moved in the opposite direction to Ianto. Moving around the meeting im progress. There was aging of Blowfish, several men who appeared to be Unit and to Ianto and Jacks' surprise a man and woman who seemed extremely out of place, the man's suit something Ianto would choose and the woman stood defiantly with her blonde hair swinging.

Jack recognised her as she defiantly raised her chin and he felt his blood run cold, glancing up at Ianto who was moving around to look at the piece of tech that sat on the table. Jack tried to judge the distance between the men and the blonde as she took a step back, as if about to flee. There was no sign of drugs or the Kingpin they had expected and Ianto shared a look with Jack across the expanse as they both agreed that whatever this was, it was no drug deal.

No.

Not with the guests of honour.

They had stumbled into something more than that.

The man in the suit was still arguing with the men, his arms gesturing as he tried to talk them out of whatever they were trying to do with the device. There were lights flashing on it and buttons that seemed to call for attendance as small noises issued from it and Ianto slid closer as he felt some strange energy coming off it.

It all happened so fast.

Gwen barked with shock as the grating gave way and she plummeted down toward the group of men, the blonde looking up with horror as the sound alerted them all to the falling woman.

Jack started to run, he knew the distance was too great even as his mate roared with horror as he watched the junior team member fall to what would be a certain death form that height.

It was a no brainer.

Ianto took a deep breath and let himself sprung up on his toes, thenâ€¦.

The Dragon filled the space.


	25. messier and messier

Jack lunged as Ianto flew past, his hand closing over his mate's tail and as a bright light filled the room the Blonde slapped her hand down on the device as well, no doubt to shut it down.

The world seemed to shift, tilt and the noise in Jack's ears was like that of a stormy surf eating away a peddled beach, the roar and ebb as he felt himself floating, freefall and then he was still.

Slowly he came back to himself and he shook his head in an effort to clear it as he gasped for air, looking up as he found his hand and knees, seeing Ianto laying motionless on the ground with him.

Gwen lay in one of his mighty paws, her look of surprise as she looked over at Jack a 'tell' that this entire thing had taken mere seconds, not the long minutes he had experienced in the moments of activation. Like...suspended for a time.

The Blonde was gone and the suit was running, his foot falls fading as he was pursued by Unit and the Blowfish?

All standing motionless as they stared at the huge dragon that was slowly moving to place Gwen on her feet before transforming back to human form.

_**Wake up Cariad.** _

Jack threw his Great Coat around the heaving shoulders as Ianto became human again and Gwen staggered forward to embrace him, weeping with the sheer relief of it all.

Jack knew he should follow, should try and work out what the hell had happened but in that moment his only real truth was that Ianto had broken the treaty.

He had to get him to the safety of the Hub before the Unit soldiers realised that as well and turned back for him.

.

.

.

.

.

"Like, how big again?" Owen was genuinely pissed that he had missed it, the CCTV still downloading as Ianto sat silently in the Great Coat, his bare ankles looking so silly. Jack went to fetch clothing for his mate as Gwen spoke softly to Rhys on the phone, reassuring him again that she was OK.

"It's done" Tosh called and they all turned to the screen, allowing Ianto some privacy to drop the coat and pull on the track suit pants.

The grainy image showed Gwen falling, Ianto leaping and transforming as the frame by frame opened on the screen.

"Shit" Owen said softly, "That looks wicked. I want that for my new screen saver man!"

p>"There was a huge flash of light ... it was blinding" Gwen was gushing, "I saw the Blonde grab the device and Yan Dragon grab it as well, then the light turned to...like...gold dust. Then I was in his paw with those huge talons around me like a cage and we were on the ground, Jack scrambling towards us."

"And the blonde is gone, along with the device" Owen muttered, his hand moving over the mouse as he flicked between the millisecond frames, "Just like that. Suit is right there but not touching the device, he seems to be as horrified as Jack looks."

"I knew her" Jack said softly as he shared a look with Ianto, "I knew her...or someone like her. Something...I don't know."

"So...she has a VM? She transported with the device?" Gwen asked, the phone now sliding into her pocket.

"But Ianto and Jack are still here" Tosh pointed out "If the device was a transporter, or she used one while holding the device, Ianto and Jack would have gone as well."

"Not necessarily" Jack sighed, "Ianto is a Welsh Dragon. Of this dirt. He was too big, too strong. A VM would jump him, but not thi...whatever it was. I know because it tried. I felt it, I know time-jumping when I feel it and it tried to snatch all three of us, me holding his tail was maybe the final thing to help ground us."

"Pure mass was too great" Ianto frowned, "Then why do I feel different?"

"Because you finally transformed" Owen said, "Not only that...dude! You fucking flew!"

Ianto swung to Jack with surprise.

He had.

He had flown.

.

.

.

.

As the rest of the team tried to work out what the device had been, let alone the blonde who Jack was determined not to talk about, Ianto stepped into his mate's arms. He was still slightly shaken to see the woman after all this time. Alive and still in the middle of drama.

"The wet room" Ianto whispered, "I need you."

"Always love" Jack assured him, "We need never speak of this, we can just...be."

Owen watched them leave and then his hand went to his arm where the scar was already fading, Tosh's fine work showing her own medical knowledge had saved a team member yet again.

"That was too close" Owen said to her as she stood beside him her own hand closing over his and she looked into his eyes.

"We are in danger now" she said softly, "They will come for Ianto, they will try to force the issue."

"They will want Dragon Blood" Owen frowned, drawing her in close, "Don't worry my little Blossom, I will not let them in."

"I will not let them take him" she said, her hand tightening slightly as she leaned her weight into him, "If it comes to a fight, I shall. To the death."

"I understand" Owen assured her, looking back at the screen and the largest dragon he had ever seen filling the warehouse.

His own little Japanese dragon firmly in his arms.

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So ends this segment, the second part to come once Meretrixvilis and I are done sniggering over it.


End file.
